The boy across the road
by MrsCAHSRECLHCJ
Summary: Molly is happy in her quiet life. Then Charles James appears, making her question the choices she's made. Charles is trying to decide what to do with his life. There are so many things to consider and now fate has flung this beautiful girl in his path. Will they find their way together or are they destined to just be neighbours?
1. Chapter 1

**AN: I have been wanting to write an OG FF for ages and I've finally plucked up the courage. I adore CJ and MD and I absolutely love reading all the FF on here. I don't think I'll be able to match them or do full justice to CJ/MD as they are in the show so my Molly is only Molly in name. She's pretty much OC in every other way. CJ is still his usual amazing self though obviously I don't own the character, just my story. It's a mish mash of series 1 and 2 with my own ideas thrown in. There will be ups, downs and angst, but plenty of romance, love, some smut and ultimately I can't write anything that's not got a happy ending! Please R &R, I'd be very grateful. **

Chapter 1

Molly kept an eye on her Fitbit as she pounded along, her chest felt like it might burst, but she had to keep pushing for this last stretch. She was still questioning her sanity, signing up for a marathon. She must be mad, but she'd got carried away with Lily egging her on, promising they'd train together, but now she'd buggered off on a yoga retreat for 3 weeks so Molly was left putting the hours in herself.

Her watch beeped to indicate that she was almost home and had completed the necessary miles for today. She slowed to a walk, wanting nothing else than to collapse on the ground, but knowing that was very bad for her body. She kept going for another quarter of a mile and when she was almost at her front door she stopped. Breathing heavily, she leaned over, hands on her knees, trying to ignore the burning in her muscles.

She became aware of shouting behind her. Unusual for such a quiet street, but there it was. Loud, deep and a bloody Essex accent as well. Likely one of the posh guys from the apartment block across from her cottage. Best to just ignore him.

"Hey hey come on Charlie boy, keep up mate. Never gonna get back to full fitness with a pathetic pace like that. Come on come on come- oof, fuck!"

Molly suddenly felt herself pitch forward as a body slammed into the back of her. Luckily, as she was bent over, she didn't have far to fall, but to add insult to injury, the twat who hadn't been looking where he was going as he ran backwards goading his friend, was now lying on top of her!

"Ow ow!" She yelped as she tried to get up.

"Shit!"

She heard another voice, this one more refined, gentle.

"Elvis you stupid arse, watch where you're going." The second voice pushed the first voice off her. "I'm so sorry, are you ok? Are you hurt?"

Molly sat up, rubbing her hands and knees,

"I'll live", she said grudgingly, "no thanks to this muppet." She indicated to Voice number 1 who sat beside her grinning cheekily.

She looked up, shielding her eyes from the afternoon sun. Voice number 2 was standing over her, one hand on her shoulder, the other offered down to her to help her up. She let him pull her up to standing and only then could she really see his face. He was gorgeous. Trust her luck, to meet Mr Handsome when she was rolling on the ground, dripping in sweat in her running gear.

"I'll just help myself up will I Charlie?" Voice number 1 grumbled as he stood up.

Molly stood awkwardly. Voice 2 or Charlie as she now knew he was called was looking at her concerned,

"Are you sure you're ok?"

She nodded, taking in his height, his muscles hidden under a Nike t-shirt and black running shorts. He had curly hair which was cut short, but long enough to hold onto while...

She shook herself, this was crazy, maybe she had hit her head.

"She's fine Charlie, these Scots lasses are made of stern stuff." Elvis ( _surely that couldn't be his real name?_ ) patted her on the shoulder, "No harm done eh?"

She narrowed her eyes, "Well no thanks to you Hussein Bolt! I don't know how they do things in Essex, but here, we face the way we're running!"

Charlie snorted, "Well well Elvis we may have just met the only woman on the planet impervious to your charms!"

"Oi shut up, hop along! She's not met me properly yet." He turned to Molly, smiling sweetly, extending his hand to shake hers. "Madam, pleasure to make your acquaintance. I'm Elvis and this is Charlie. He's a recent immigrant to North of the border." He indicated to Mr Handsome.

Molly shook Elvis's hand reluctantly, never taking her eyes off Charlie. He also extended his hand for her to shake and she took it gladly.

"Charles, it's only this muppet that calls me Charlie."

"I'm Molly. Pleased to meet you." And she was, pleased that is. In fact she seemed to have lost the power of intelligent conversation around him.

"Anyway," she said nervously, "Better get in. Nice to meet you both, well maybe not you so much," she looked at Elvis and Charles laughed. "But if you promise not to tackle me to the ground again, next time might be better."

"Ho ho! Charlie did you hear that? She said next time! I'm in there."

"Yeah yeah," she said opening her front gate, "wind your neck in." But she laughed.

As she walked to her front door, Charles called after her,

"So do you live here?"

"Yes, why? Where do you live?"

He pointed to the apartment block across the road.

She smiled knowingly,

"Thought so," she said.

"What?" Charles looked confused.

"Bye," she called, waving before she shut her front door. Bloody posh boys!


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Thank you so much to everyone who has read this and left a review. What's even more exciting is that two reviews came from FF writers that I follow and love! Thank you all. This is another wee short chapter to get us further into the story. Lots planned, but RL goes on.**

 **For those who have asked, Molly is Scottish. I tend to set my writing here because it's where I know best. :)**

Molly pottered about for the rest of the day, spending some time in the back garden, enjoying the sunshine.

When it got to teatime she started getting ready. It was a big night out tonight and she was excited. As a teacher, the first Saturday of the summer holidays was to be savoured, followed by an almighty piss up at night in town. Her best friends at work, Kate and Ella had already been texting back and forth with her about outfits, travel arrangements etc.

As she got ready, her mind kept wandering to Charles. He really was gorgeous and he'd been so polite despite having a twat of a friend. When she realised she'd been staring in the mirror with her mascara wand in mid air, she gave herself a shake,

 _For Gods sake Molly, get a grip!_

She slipped her dress on, delighted at how it fitted. The extra running had really helped to hone her already enviable figure. She was tall, with long legs and the purple dress clung to her curves. It had a plunging low V at the front and from a clip at the neck dropped to an open square at the back. Lily had called it "a pulling dress"! She slipped her purple ankle boots on, revelling in the high heels. One positive thing about not being with Daniel anymore, she could now wear heels comfortably without anyone moaning at her that she was too tall.

She'd phoned to book a taxi for 8pm and been told by a grumbling operator that they were very busy so it would be with her when they could. She was surprised therefore, when her phone rang announcing the taxi's arrival at 7.59pm.

She grabbed her bag and leather jacket, locked the front door and turned round to find two people trying to nab her taxi. Or rather Elvis trying to nab her taxi. Her heart soared at the sight of Charles considering how much of the afternoon she'd spent thinking about him despite having only spent about 5 minutes in his company.

Her attention came back to Elvis though,

"Come on mate, we booked one too, how do you know there's not been a mix up?" Elvis leaned into the passenger window of the taxi which was parked on the opposite side of the road to Molly's house.

"Is your name Molly pal? If it's not then this is not your taxi!" The driver seemed irritated now.

Molly walked confidently across the road, internally praying that she didn't stumble on her high heels and end up on the ground in front of these guys for the second time today.

Charles stood, hands in pockets looking equal parts mortified by his friend and intrigued by Molly's appearance.

"Hi," he said shyly to her.

She smiled back, "Hi."

"Elvis", she said pointedly opening the back door of the taxi.

"Molly! Mate!" Elvis greeted her enthusiastically. "You going into town?"

She nodded.

"Great so are we, we'll just share your taxi."

"Um," she was strangely lost for words. She didn't know these guys, one of them she couldn't engage her brain anywhere near him and now they were going to sit beside her for a 25 minute taxi ride?

The driver rescued her then, "No chance, you cheeky bugger. You've got one booked, just wait on it and stop going on!"

Molly shrugged apologetically, "Have a good night."

"Bloody charming!" Elvis remarked.

Molly grinned, "Just think of it as penance for this," she pointed to her right knee where an angry scrape sat, "and this-" she lifted the back of her dress to just above mid thigh and pointed to a nicely forming purple bruise, "I believe that's the shape of your elbow from where you landed on me." She dropped her dress back with a satisfied grin.

"Talk about holding a grudge." Elvis grumbled.

"She's got a point though." Charles said coming towards Molly. He pulled the taxi door open more and guided her inside. She took his hand gratefully.

As she sat down, their eyes met.

"Thanks." she said awkwardly.

"No problem, enjoy your night."

"You too." she smiled knowingly, wondering again how these two men were friends.

Charles slammed the door and Molly waved. As the taxi drove away she looked at her hand, remembering his touch. Maybe she'd see him in town, she should have asked where they were going.

 _Stop_! she thought. _Jumping in as usual_. She was distracted then by the driver chatting and thankfully he was a good conversationalist. She wanted to enjoy her night out, forget about Daniel and not get hung up on some guy who lived across the road!


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: thank you for all the lovely reviews. They have been such a boost! This next chapter is a little burst of Charles POV.**

Charles watched Molly's taxi drive away, disappointment making his shoulders slump. When Elvis suggested they share the taxi, his excitement piqued. This girl he'd barely met had never been far from his mind all afternoon and now he might get a chance to get to know her a little, but her face said it all when she thought she might have to travel into town with them.

He couldn't blame her. Elvis was doing his usual which was bad enough without the fact he'd knocked her to the ground and it's not like Charles was charming her with his witty banter. When he'd run to help her he hadn't known what to say. He was instantly struck by her beauty. Fresh faced, no make-up, hair scraped back beauty and all he could do was look at her. When he found out how close she lived, he hoped he'd bump into her, but although she was polite she was obviously keen to get away.

He thought of her for the rest of the day, finding it difficult to focus on unpacking which he was mostly doing by himself. Elvis had insisted on coming with him on Friday when he moved, to help him "get sorted", but he hadn't been a massive help. He'd unpacked a couple of boxes on Friday afternoon before raiding the limited fridge supplies and playing Sam's X-box.

On Saturday morning he helped again for a bit, but then suggested they go for a run. Although Charles' rehab at Headley Court was now finished, he still wasn't back to full fitness. Elvis knew he needed to push him a bit so they'd set off. Charles enjoyed the first mile, but his leg started to ache and although Scottish sunshine was far from the Afghan climate, the temperature soared until he struggled to make it back despite Elvis's taunting.

He was considering how he could murder Elvis and make it look like an accident when the idiot had crashed into poor Molly. Charles was mortified, especially when Elvis started chatting her up too.

Once they were inside and Elvis had gone for a nap, Charles found himself staring out of his kitchen window at her house. There was no sign of her and after a while he worried that he was bordering on creepy.

As they'd left the flat to go out, his eyes again went to her front door and within a few moments he was greeted by the welcome sight of her walking down the path. She looked stunning. Her dark hair tumbled round her shoulders in soft waves and her body was snug in a purple dress that hugged her curves and tantalisingly hinted at what was underneath. She strode purposefully across the road and he held his breath. She was beautiful.

When she greeted him, he had to resist the urge to scoop her up into a hug. He was vaguely aware of her speaking to Elvis before the suggestion that they share the taxi, but his senses clicked online when she lifted her dress a little to show one of her injuries. The fabric inched up her smooth, tanned thigh and he found himself imagining running his fingers over the skin there. He had to touch her.

Suddenly he moved towards her, helping her into the taxi just so he could hold her hand for a moment. What was wrong with him? He didn't do this kind of thing. He didn't get involved. Emotions clouded things, made his job more dangerous than it already was so he shut down on a regular basis. This spilled into his real life so that he'd found it hard to connect with anyone for a good few years, especially since the divorce.

He'd found it hard to connect with Rebecca as well, for different reasons and he admitted to himself that he never would have married her if it wasn't for Sam.

"At last!" Elvis broke his reverie as he pointed to the approaching taxi. "Come on Charlie, let's see what delights Edinburgh has to offer us."

Charles climbed in after Elvis, desperately hoping one of those delights might be Molly, but Edinburgh was a big city and chances were she wouldn't be so eager to see him. He slumped back in his seat. It was unlikely that a girl that gorgeous was single anyway. No he'd be better off just putting her out of his mind and getting on with things the way they were.


	4. Chapter 4

OG -4- 

**AN: Apologies for the delay in updating. We've had some worries about my toddler daughter and I felt guilty if I was writing this instead of researching stuff for her. However I'm feeling a bit more creative and this is a good outlet/distraction. Enjoy and thank you so much for the lovely reviews, they make my day**

By her 2nd glass of Prosecco, Molly was starting to unwind. She was with her friends Kate and Ella (from work), her colleagues who were friends and her colleagues she wasn't that keen on, but they were flung together in work so they better try and get on!

"Sooo girls, I met a boy today..." She dragged the words out, teasing them both.

They squealed simultaneously,

"What the hell Molly?"

"Tell us tell us!"

She laughed and explained her encounter with Charles.

"This Elvis guy sounds like a sure thing, maybe you should just shag _him_." Ella said.

"No!" exclaimed Kate, "You've got that look Molly! You _really_ like this guy! This Charles one."

"I've barely met him Kate, I can't _really_ like him! But I admit something about him has got under my skin." She squirmed a little.

"Thank God!" Ella said, "it's about bloody time you were moving on from Dull Daniel!"

"Ella!" Molly looked around nervously. Both she and Ella were aware that Daniel still had his loyal supporters among their colleagues.

"What?" said Ella defiantly, "After what he did he doesn't deserve any loyalty from us or you!"

"I know," Molly said quietly, "but I don't want people talking about me."

Kate rubbed her shoulder sympathetically,

"I know babe, but it's going to happen in a situation like this."

"Yes, but I'm attempting to keep calm, so when his cosy two timing life comes crashing down around him, I can maintain the air of being the bigger person." Molly spoke gently and quietly, but a menacing tone underlaid her voice.

Ella and Kate whooped, "That's our girl!"

"So you said Charlie and Elvis were heading into town, maybe we'll bump into them!" Kate sounded hopeful.

Molly smiled, "Maybe..." She was of course hoping the same thing.

As the evening moved on, so did their group of merry school staff. Each bar they went into, Molly scanned the room hopefully for a sign of her new acquaintances, but their paths never crossed and as her hopes got lower, Ella's blood alcohol got higher.

Around midnight, they were making their way along George Street, all a bit more worse for wear, feet beginning to hurt in the high heels, groomed appearances starting to slip. They were aiming for Lou Lou's so they could all have a dance, but Molly was doubting whether half of them would get in, they were so drunk.

The street was busy with summer night revellers and their group was moving along in dribs and drabs. They had to stop every so often to let people past, mostly because Molly and Kate were holding Ella up between them and couldn't go in single file. Molly wasn't paying much attention to the crowds, but suddenly she heard an unmistakeable Essex accent and her head snapped up. Heading towards them were Charles and Elvis.

She stopped dead and Ella swayed,

"Oi what you doing?" Ella questioned loudly, "Molly!"

At the sound of her name, Charles looked around eagerly. She'd not taken her eyes off him and suddenly he found her in the crowd, his face breaking into a massive grin.

"Molly," it was Kate's turn, "what is it?"

"It's him." she hissed

"What?"

Then he and Elvis were standing in front of them.

"Hey Molly," he said quietly still beaming at her.

"Is this the guy Molly?" Kate asked with no subtlety

Molly glared at her.

"Am I the guy?" Charles asked amused.

"If anyone's the guy I am!" interjected Elvis. He'd clearly had more to drink than Charles

"Who the fuck are you?" asked Ella shakily, "are you the prick that ran Molly over?!" Ella prodded Elvis in the chest.

"Steady on love you make it sound like I backed over her with a truck! It was just a small collision."

"She could sue you you know, an accident that wasn't her fault and all that."

"Listen darlin' she can sue all she wants she ain't gonna get nothing from me." He flashed Ella his mega watt smile and she simpered a little.

During this whole exchange, Charles and Molly had stood looking at each other, smiling shyly, unsure what to say.

"Looks like your mate has succumbed to Elvis's chat then."

Molly rolled her eyes,

"To be fair she's so drunk she'd probably succumb to a lamppost."

"I heard that!" said Ella.

"Well I said it so you could!" smiled Molly.

"So you're Charlie then?" Ella diverted her attention to him. "We've been looking for you!"

"Ella shut up!"

"Hoped we'd run into you." Ella continued in a sing song voice.

Molly shifted uncomfortably,

"I um told them I'd met you guys, about the taxi and stuff, said it'd be funny if we ended up bumping into you."

Molly hoped she sounded convincing.

"I thought the same actually and here we are." Charles smiled that mischievous smile again and Molly's stomach did a flip flop.

"Come on girls, what's taking so bloody long?!"

One of their colleagues Stuart shouted back along the street from where he and a few of the other guys were standing waiting for them. Molly held up her finger to indicate one minute. The guys nodded, they'd bumped into a hen party who they were now trying to convince to go with them to the club. A few more minutes might help their cause.

Suddenly Molly felt bold,

"So where are you heading now?" she looked straight at Charles.

Charles shrugged, "Not sure to be honest, Elvis seems determined to get me on a dance floor."

"Oh well tag along with us," Kate piped up, "we're going for a dance now."

"Sounds good ladies," Elvis winked at Ella.

"Yeah why don't you join us?" Molly asked Charles.

He smiled, "Lead the way."

There was an awkward moment where he looked like he might put his arm round her, but there was still the issue of holding Ella upright so after a few seconds of dancing round each other so to speak, he gestured that they should all go first and he and Elvis would follow.

Just then a chorus of shouts went up from their colleagues on the corner,

"Hey hey!"

"Hey boy!"

"Look who got let off the leash!"

"Slumming it with us lowly teachers are you now Mr Deputy?"

Molly was frozen to the spot.

"Fuck!" She snapped

"Bloody hell what the fuck is he doing here?! Fucking wanker, wait 'til I see him!" Ella made to stride forward and went over on her ankle, "Daniel!" she screamed.

"Ella! Shut the fuck up!" Molly grabbed her friend's hand.

"No I won't Molls, what does he think he's doing crashing our party?"

"Ella just leave it yeah?" Kate said quietly looking at Molly. Her eyes had filled with tears and she was looking like she was about to make a run for it.

Charles came round the side of her and touched her elbow gently,

"Is everything ok Molly?"

Molly looked at him as if she'd forgotten he'd been behind her all this time. She shook her head,

"No not really, but it's nothing for you to worry about. Sorry..." She wiped her now leaking eyes.

"Girls are we going this club or what?" Elvis seemed oblivious to what was going on.

"Oh my God," Molly sounded panicked, "he's coming over. Kate take Ella I need to go!"

"What? Molly no!" Kate held onto Ella while trying to convince Molly to stay where she was.

"Sorry Charles I need to go." She started walking away from the group as fast as she could in her heels. Charles had caught up with her in a few long strides. He walked beside her then,

"Molly what's wrong? Who is that guy? Where are you going?"

"He's my ex, I don't want to see him and I'm going home."

"You can't go walking on your own."

"Yes I can, there's about 150 people just on this stretch of road I'm sure I'll be fine."

"Please," he took her elbow, gently pulling her to a stop "let me go with you, just to make sure you get back ok," he added in case she thought he was suggesting something else.

She looked up into his eyes which were full of concern and she felt her guard drop a little.

She nodded, "Ok thank you, but I don't want to talk about it if that's alright."

He nodded in agreement.

Just as they started to walk again, she heard Daniel's voice behind her,

"Hey Molls,"

She stopped, took a deep breath and turned,

"Daniel," her voice was shaky and Charles slipped his hand into hers protectively. She grasped it gratefully, feeling less alone in this ambush.

"How are you?"

"Good thank you,"

"Right yeah um..."

It was clear that Daniel hadn't thought much beyond the initial pleasantries and he fidgeted uncomfortably.

"You look good Molly,"

"Fuck off Daniel!," the vehemence in her voice surprised Charles and he realised there must be a lot more to this than just an ex-boyfriend.

"Molls come on be fair, can't I compliment you now?"

"No."

Molly looked at him properly now. He didn't look good at all. He'd put on weight and he'd lost some more hair. She supposed stress might do that to a person. She found herself more and more wondering why she had stayed for so long.

"You not coming with the rest of the crew?" Daniel jerked his head in the direction of the group who were not even trying to hide the fact they were watching this exchange. Charles thought they looked like he often did on tour, waiting to see if an IED was going to blow.

"No." said Molly again.

"Don't leave on my account Molly please, surely we can be civil."

She chuffed out a humourless laugh, "Don't flatter yourself Daniel. I'm heading home, go party with your friends."

"I only came tonight to see you."

He was laying his cards out.

"Where's Melanie?" Molly enquired sarcastically.

"At home." Daniel sounded downhearted.

"Well maybe that's where you should be too." Molly's voice had a sliver of threat in it, Charles was afraid she might flip without warning. He made a split second decision which had the potential to back fire but he wanted to help her here, she was so obviously struggling to hold it together.

He slipped his arm around her shoulders,

"You ready to go babe?"

Molly looked at him in shock. He raised an eyebrow at her so she'd get what he was trying to do.

"Emm yes I think I am. Goodnight Daniel." She turned away taking Charles' hand again.

"Molly wait! Who is this guy?!"

Looking over her shoulder she spat the words out, "That is none of your damn business Daniel."

With that she walked away, holding tightly onto Charles' hand. He thought it better not to speak until she did, she was obviously trying not to cry.

After they'd moved a good bit down the street, Molly spoke in a shaky voice,

"Is he still there?"

Charles glanced back,

"No he seems to have gone. Your friends are coming this way though and Elvis is with them."

They rounded the next corner and she stopped, dropping his hand. She leant against the wall and closed her eyes, breathing deeply.

"You ok?"

She nodded "Thank you for that, back there, I really appreciate it. Sorry it was so awkward."

He shook his head, "It wasn't awkward, I was glad to help. Is he really your ex?"

"Unfortunately so."

Charles made a face.

"What?!" She demanded.

"Nothing.", Charles looked at the ground, he hadn't meant to make it so obvious.

"Go on say it!" She sounded pissed off now.

"Just that he was clearly punching above his weight."

Molly deflated, "Oh. That's such a nice thing to say." She felt the tears welling up again, but at that moment Kate, Ella and Elvis came round the corner.

"Well well well Charlie, what's going on here?" Elvis punched his friend playfully.

"Nothing Elvis, I was just helping Molly out of an awkward situation.

"You ok honey?" Kate hugged Molly. She nodded.

"Want to hear the good news or the bad news?" Ella asked sheepishly.

"Oh Ella what?" Molly looked warily at her.

"The bad news is I was sick-"

"Oh Ella!"

"-the good news is I was sick on Daniel's shoes." Ella smiled cheekily.

Molly burst out laughing. A proper belly laugh, not only did Daniel think she had a hot new boyfriend, but Ella had puked on him.

"Ella you're a star sometimes, but you're looking a bit pale again, let's get you home."

"What you mean you're not staying out?!" Elvis asked indignantly.

"Sorry Elvis, I think our night is done." She turned to Charles, "Thank you again for looking out for me,"

"Anytime." he smiled. And he meant it.

She came closer to him and for a moment he wondered what she was doing, but she leaned up to hug him. She squeezed tightly then kissed him on the cheek,

"Goodnight Charles."

"Goodnight Molly."

Then she was gone. Kate hailed a taxi and off the three of them went leaving Charles and Elvis wondering what had just happened.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: We get a bit more info about our couple now, but just in case there is anybody reading this who is called Melanie/has frizzy hair/crochets, I mean no offence! I know a lot of lovely Melanies and a good few cool crocheting folk! I've also stretched the Sam character fairly far from the TV show as you'll see. And the lines from the show obviously belong to TG (genius!) and BBC. Thanks for all the reviews so far, they are so appreciated.**

Molly didn't do much on Sunday other than drag herself back from Ella's and collapse on the sofa. Charles was never far from her mind and she saw him briefly through the window as he waved Elvis off in a taxi about 7pm. She was curled on the sofa watching TV with the lights off so she could see him, but she was pretty sure he couldn't see her. Once Elvis had gone, he stood with his hands in his pockets gazing at her house for a minute before heading back inside.

Charles had been distracted since Molly had left the previous night. Although he kept telling himself he'd just been helping her out, he kept thinking of how it had felt to put his arm round her. The feeling of her hand in his. He couldn't figure out how that guy Daniel could have been with Molly. She was gorgeous, he couldn't sleep for thinking of her in that dress.

Molly didn't train on Monday so she thought she better run on Tuesday. She spent the whole time looking for him, but there was no sign of him. She was heading home, cursing herself for being stupid enough to put make up on for a run when he appeared out of his door.

He waved.

"Just heading out?" she called.

"Yeah, better push on."

Molly noticed he ran slightly awkwardly as if he was protecting his right leg. She wondered if he had an injury.

On Wednesday she had another Charles free run even though she'd gone out at the same time each day. She figured he probably was avoiding that time so he didn't run into her. She decided to treat herself to a coffee before she went home. She detoured to the promenade which ran along the back of Charles' building. She wondered if his flat had a sea view, mm she wasn't likely to see it. As she came along, she smiled to herself, she really did love living this close to the beach. She'd get a coffee and sit on the sand to drink it.

She pushed into the coffee shop and greeted the familiar staff.

"Hey Molly! The usual?"

"Please Ruth thanks."

She stood leaning on the counter, fiddling with her phone.

"Cheating after your run with a cake?"

She jumped at the voice in her ear, turning round to find Charles standing very close to her. He was wearing knee length khaki shorts, a blue Levi's t-shirt and navy converse. He looked effortlessly handsome.

"Um no! No cake! Just coffee."

"Me too. Is it good in here?"

"Oh yes I'm a regular! It's too handy!"

"Latte please." Charles ordered.

"Sit in or take away?" Ruth asked.

"Emm, take away?" He looked like he wanted to ask Molly what she was doing.

Ruth placed the take away cup in front of her and she paid.

"I'm just going to sit on the beach, want to join me?"

"Yes! Um yeah thanks."

Molly smiled at his eagerness, "See you out there." she said.

She headed out and chose a patch of sun soaked sand so it was warmer. Her stomach was in a knot and it tightened when Charles sat down by her, bending his knees up in front of him.

"This is nice, I can't believe I live next to a beach now." he commented.

"Really?"

"Yeah funny how things turn out."

She wanted to ask him what he meant, but she didn't want to pry.

A comfortable silence sat between them as they sipped their coffee. Charles broke it first.

"So how recently did your ex become your ex?"

He was being direct then.

"About 15 months."

"Ok", he paused, "I thought it must be more recent, it still seems quite raw."

"Is there a statute of limitations on heartbreak?" She was sharper than she intended and he drew back slightly.

"I'm sorry, that was really rude." she apologised.

"No no, I guess it's been a while since I had a break up, you forget I suppose."

"This was more than a break up. It was a nuclear detonation."

He gave a small laugh, "Sounds bad."

"It was."

She'd said on Saturday she didn't want to talk about it and usually she didn't. Something about Charles made her want to open up more though. He hadn't pushed for details, but she started to talk anyway and he sat back a little, allowing her the space she needed to unburden herself.

"Daniel and I met while we were doing our postgrad for teaching. We were really good mates for ages on the course. I was seeing somebody else, well-" she looked embarrassed, "-a couple of somebody elses."

Charles nodded and smiled. He had this way of smiling with his mouth shut, looking down and then cheekily back up at you. She almost lost her train of thought.

"So um yeah, we both got jobs in different schools, but we kept in touch. Then after a few years I got a job at the same school he was at and we ended up together. Now that I look back though, I think we just kind of went with it, there was no lightning bolt moment, butterflies in the tummy etc. I just assumed that was only in the movies as they say."

"So how did you get from ending up together to nuclear?"

"Last year he got a promotion at a different school. Deputy head. It was a big step for him. It had been suggested that I be going down that route too, but Daniel convinced me to wait because we were going to try for a baby."

Molly's voice choked a little and Charles touched her hand briefly.

"Anyway," she continued, "he started after the February break and by the Easter holidays he was having an affair with Melanie the home economics teacher. If it wasn't so bloody tragic it would be funny." She shook her head, "So that was it. My career path, potential children and life partner wiped out in a oner, all because he couldn't resist the advances of a frizzy haired bitch who crochets for fun."

"Wow that is some tale. Pretty unbelievable actually, like I said the other night, he was punching above his weight and yet he left you." He shook his head, "What an idiot."

"Thank you for saying that Charles. It's very kind."

"No, it's true."

They held eye contact for a few moments before Molly turned away a little, looking out at the waves.

"Anyway he obviously still has a lot of mates at my current school so we're bound to cross paths at some point, but I've been very good at avoiding him. He's been trying to get in touch with me for the last couple of months, but I've ignored him. I didn't think for one minute he'd have the brass neck to come along on Saturday. He might have mates there, but the senior management team are not his biggest fans."

"He must really want to talk to you. Maybe there's trouble in the crochet paradise." Charles smiled his cheeky smile again leaning his arms on his knees.

"Who knows. I don't want to talk to him and he can run around town as much as he likes, that's not going to change."

"I'm sorry." Charles looked serious this time.

"What for?" Molly was puzzled.

"That you had to go through all of that. That someone would treat you that badly. It's awful."

Molly blushed, "I'm getting there. The worst thing is once it had all died down I realised I didn't actually miss him that much. I miss him as my mate, but as a boyfriend? A partner? Not so much. If we'd stayed together I think I'd have been settling, so in the end he did me a favour, it's just a shame I had to go through all the humiliation of being cheated on by a middle aged, balding twat."

"Really it sounds like he and Melanie are made for each other."

"I guess they are." Molly said thoughtfully.

A moment of silence followed when she wasn't sure what else to say. They continued to drink their coffees.

"So Charles are you going to tell me your story?"

"Mm not sure you want to hear it. Bit predictable really."

"Try me." it was her turn to sit back and listen.

"What would you like to know?" He was being reticent now.

"Well why have you moved to Edinburgh? Is it work?"

"Ugh I definitely don't want to talk about work." He made a face.

"Ok..." Molly waited.

"I've mainly moved here because of my son." Charles said finally.

Molly hadn't expected that. She checked his wedding finger again. Definitely no sign of a ring.

Charles caught her sideways glance.

"I'm divorced." he said

"Right, so a son? Is your ex-wife here?"

"No she's in Bath."

"Really? I love Bath!"

He snorted "Really? That's not most people's reactions."

"Well I'm not most people." She realised how flirty she sounded but she wasn't sorry.

Charles took a deep breath,

"My son Sam is due to start university here in September. I wanted to be near him."

Molly's eyes widened? "What?! University? How old is he?"

"He's 17."

"So you're older than you look then?" Molly was trying to do the maths in her head.

"No no I'm 35. We had him when we were very young."

"You certainly did."

Molly processed all this. She'd been speaking about trying for a baby and Charles's baby was practically an adult. She felt their worlds shift away from each other a bit more.

"Sam was a prom night baby, end of school. Rebecca fell pregnant, we'd only been seeing each other a few months, but there was pressure from her family to do the right thing so we got married. We were lucky to have the family support we did though, it meant we could still go to uni. I wasn't good at the life Rebecca wanted though."

"What life was that?"

"Settled. I couldn't sit still. In the end we resented each other and we split up. We've shared care of Sam over the years, it's civil, but we're not exactly friends. Where yours was a nuclear detonation, mine was a crumbling from the inside out."

They both sat for a moment, contemplating this.

"I know what you mean about settling though..." Charles looked up at her.

"No lightning bolt either?"

He shook his head, "Guess I'm still looking for it."

Molly smiled, he was flirting now.

Suddenly her phone rang, they both jumped. Lily's name flashed up on the screen.

"Oh! Lily! Sorry Charles I need to take this."

He indicated with his hand for her to go ahead.

"Lil? Can you hear me?"

There was crackling on the other end of the phone.

"Molls? Yeah I can hear you, but you're a bit quiet. We've come into the city for the day so I've got some wifi! Thought I'd check in. I got your message. Bloody Daniel!"

"I know, bastard!" Molly laughed and glanced at Charles. He was watching her intently.

"How's the retreat?"

"Good, few nice guys!"

"Lily you're there for yoga not the Kama sutra!"

Charles eyebrows shot up.

"Yeah yeah. How's the running?"

"Good I'm on track. There's a few folk roundabout obviously training too. I've bumped into a couple."

"Oh yes? Would they be of the male species?"

"Um yeah so you're breaking up Lily. Talk to you tonight maybe?"

"Oh you're with someone now aren't you?"

"Ok Lily miss you too!"

"Ooh can't wait for details! Talk later luv ya!"

"Bye."

Molly hung up hoping Charles hadn't heard Lily's side of things.

"Friend?" Charles asked.

"Yes, my best friend. She's on a yoga retreat in India."

"Ah the Kama sutra comment makes sense now." They both laughed.

Molly noticed the time on her phone, they'd been sitting for over an hour!

"Oh look at the time, I better get on."

Charles nodded and they got to their feet. They walked slowly back to the coffee shop and turned the corner towards their street. Molly didn't know what to do with her hands, she was itching to touch him.

They stopped at his door,

"So Molly..."

"Yes Charles..." She lifted her face towards him, squinting in the sun.

"Would you like to have dinner with me tonight?"

He was going out on a limb and his heart was racing, but to Molly he looked calm, confident and bloody gorgeous. Her breath caught.

"Um yes that would be lovely thank you."

He pressed his lips together and smiled, shifting nervously,

"So should I pick you up? 7.30?"

"That's perfect. See you then."

"Yep..."

Neither of them made a move. Molly cleared her throat,

"Ok bye." As she moved away, Charles leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.

"See you tonight."

She smiled and made her way across the road. Her heart was pounding and her breath hitched. Definitely a lightning bolt moment.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Ok guys I'm afraid there's going to be some angst thrown into the mix. Even though our couple might derail, remember I would never write anything other than a HEA so please stick with their journey, there's twists, turns and new characters still to meet. Thank you for your lovely appreciation of this story.**

Chapter 6

The butterflies in Molly's stomach that had appeared right after Charles asked her to dinner were now in a complete frenzy as she tried to get ready and choose an appropriate outfit. Was this a date? It felt like a date, but what if he just wanted to be friends and she turned up flashing too much cleavage? In the end she settled on a black maxi dress with silver beading and flat silver sandals. She swept her hair into a loose up do with some tendrils falling to frame her face. She was just finishing her lipstick when the doorbell rang, 7.30 p.m. on the dot. She was impressed, especially as her time keeping was not a strong skill.

She opened the front door to find Charles standing there looking every inch the catalogue model. Her breath caught at the sight of him in light coloured chinos with a navy polo shirt and brown deck shoes. He smiled nervously,

"Hi."

"Hello." She beckoned for him to come in. "I'm just going to grab my bag, give me a minute."

He stood just inside the front door gazing round her cosy living room as she ran up the stairs which curved up from one corner. When she came back down she had her bag and a silver pashmina in case it was chilly later. Charles' stomach flipped when he saw her descending the stairs. What was it about this woman? She was like a drug to him, making his senses swim and his normally logical approach to life shift completely.

"What?" Molly asked warily.

Charles realised he'd been staring,

"Uh - eh - nothing."

"Okaay..." Molly looked like she didn't believe him. "Shall we go?" she gestured to the front door.

Before he realised what he was doing, Charles had moved towards her at the bottom of the stairs. She gasped when he drew closer and looked deeply into her eyes,

"Molly," he pushed a tendril of hair back behind her ear, "you are stunning, really..." he trailed off.

Molly smiled as her cheeks flushed,

"Thank you, I-"

Her words died in her throat as he leaned down to kiss her gently. When their lips met, it felt like her senses all came online. She could feel energy coursing through her body, awakening tingles running over her skin and it made her want more. She curled her arms round his neck, pulling him closer to her and deepening the kiss. He moaned as their bodies pressed closely together and he kissed her harder this time. Opening his mouth more he caught first her bottom lip then her top lip before sweeping his tongue slightly inside her mouth. It was her turn to moan and he felt her pushing against him more. He could feel how fast things were moving especially as she brought her groin flush with his. He didn't want to rush her, but she seemed as into it as he was so he kept kissing her, savouring every sensation from touching her lips and her body, the sounds that escaped her. Tentatively he slid his hands down to stroke her ass, delighting in the mewling sound she made as he traced the line of her underwear through the flowing skirt of her dress. He was just wondering how far they would take this while standing at the bottom of her stairs when his phone rang. It took a few seconds for them to register what was happening, but eventually Molly pulled away, her eyes lidded, face flushed and wearing the appearance of someone a bit drunk on endorphins,

"Um I think that might be you?"

Charles' brain was in a fog. He could only see her beautiful face, her red lips which were swollen from how hard they'd kissed. He tried to focus on the ringing from his pocket,

"What? Oh right yes, sorry, hang on...hello? Sam? Are you ok?"

Molly looked down at the floor, suddenly aware of how close they were standing. She touched her lips, trying to suppress a smile at the thought of what had just happened. Suddenly she felt Charles' hand close round hers and he lifted it from her lips to his. She looked up as he kissed it and smiled knowingly while listening to Sam on the other end of the phone. From his side of the conversation, Molly could tell he was getting impatient.

-"Well you phoned me."

-"That was earlier, I was just phoning for a chat."

-"I appreciate you calling me back of course, I'm just a bit busy just now." He looked at Molly again who had wandered to perch on the arm of the sofa, looking at her phone and pretending not to listen.

-"I'm going out if you must know."

-"With a friend."

-"A neighbour I've met."

-"Never mind that."

-"Look Sam I realise that as your dad I seem like this ageing dinosaur, but actually I'm not quite ready for the pipe and slippers and I do manage to have a social life sometimes."

-"Well I'm not working at the moment am I?"

Molly's ears pricked up a little. He wasn't working? He was very cagey about his working life, maybe he'd been made redundant and felt embarrassed.

-"Right Sam I'm going now, I will talk to you tomorrow, unless you need something before then and by that I mean something serious, not a bank transfer of £20 so you can go into town."

-"Yes, right. Ok, yes I love you too Sam."

He hung up and looked apologetically at Molly.

"Sorry about that, um he has a habit of picking the wrong moment."

"It's fine." She smiled. "Dinner?"

He nodded,

"Yes let's go before he calls back!"

They made their way outside where Charles' car was parked. He opened the passenger door to let Molly in. She smiled at the gesture.

As he slid in beside her, there was a slight awkwardness between them, neither had acknowledged their moment of passion.

Charles snuck a sideways glance and caught Molly's eye. They both giggled, but Molly spoke first,

"So that was nice..." she teased.

Charles took her hand and kissed it again,

"More than nice Molly..."

They leaned in for another kiss which was brief, but full of the promise of more.

Charles started the engine and set off along their street while Molly sat back happily in the passenger seat.

"Can I get you some wine?"

The waiter stood expectantly by the table.

Molly looked uncomfortably from him to Charles who was studying the wine list.

"What do you think?" he asked as he looked up.

"Um..." Molly shifted in her seat.

"Can you give us a few minutes please?" Charles asked the waiter.

"What is it?" he asked Molly when the waiter had gone.

"I don't really like wine, sorry." Molly felt bad as he seemed to be somewhat of an expert if his confidence with the wine list was anything to go by.

"Well why don't we decide what we're going to eat and we can match the bottle to that."

"It doesn't mean I'm going to like it." Molly said pessimistically looking at her menu.

The restaurant was very fancy and though she'd eaten there before on a few occasions she still felt slightly out of her depth.

"Do you want me to choose for you?" Charles asked.

She looked up sharply,

"No! It's not the 1900s! And I might not know wine, but I know food!"

Charles did that knowing smile again and this time Molly felt like she wanted to simultaneously kiss him and slap him.

They went back to their menus.

"So what would you normally drink?" Charles enquired.

"Gin or Prosecco." Molly replied.

"Ah a gin drinker, a woman after my own heart."

She smiled, at last some shared ground.

Eventually they ordered their food as well as two gin and tonics and the wine glasses were filled with water.

Molly felt suddenly nervous. Now the ordering was out of the way, it was time to continue getting to know each other.

They smiled at each other, each one wondering if they should speak first. Eventually they both spoke at the same time then laughed.

"You go first." said Molly.

Charles looked like he wasn't sure if he should so Molly took a large gulp of her drink.

"I was just going to ask if this is your first marathon?"

She nodded,

"Yes and I'm bloody regretting signing up. I think it might kill me."

"Why are you doing it then?" Charles laughed.

"Lily convinced me it would be a good idea and it's for charity."

"Lily?"

"She's my best mate. She's the one on the Yoga retreat. We've been friends since we were 6. Pretty much book ends really, holding each other up through life.

Charles smiled,

"Friendships like that are rare, hold onto it." He sounded wistful.

"What about you?"

"Me?"

"The running? Are you training for something?"

"No, no I'm just trying to build my fitness back up, I had an...injury."

That explained the right leg.

"I noticed you run like you're protecting your right leg."

He looked surprised to hear that.

"Sorry, force of habit. I'm qualified in sports massage, I can see something out of alignment a mile off!"

"Wow that's good to know. Massage is so expensive these days..."

He winked to show he was joking and she laughed.

"So was it a sports injury?"

It was Charles' turn to shift uncomfortably in his seat,

"Uhm no...I was...shot."

There was silence for a moment before Molly found the presence of mind to speak,

"I'm sorry did you just say you were shot?" Molly looked incredulous.

Charles nodded.

Molly couldn't get her head round this,

"You were shot? Where? In bath?! I didn't see anything on the news!"

"No not in Bath! In Afghanistan."

"What were you doing there?" she was praying he wasn't going to say what she thought he was.

"I'm in...um...the...army."

And there it was. Molly sat in silence, shocked.

"Molly?" Charles was concerned now. She hadn't spoken and her face was crestfallen.

"You're in the army?" she asked in the smallest voice.

"Yes, why?"

"I can't do this Charles."

"You can't do what?"

"This." Molly indicated the space between them. "I can't date someone in the forces, I just can't."


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Thank you for your lovely reviews and support and for not abandoning the story when our favourite couple are not quite a couple yet. I'm really enjoying writing this story and am so glad you are enjoying reading it, it means such a lot. :) There are a few lines from the show here, obviously I don't own them, I'm just borrowing them!**

Chapter 7

Charles looked completely shocked and confused. Molly resisted the urge to run from the table, focussing on the bubbles inside her gin glass instead.

"I - uh - know some people don't trust squaddies, but I'm an officer, a Captain actually. I'm not some fly by night soldier with a girl in every town." He sounded very defensive now as well as confused. He had not seen her reaction coming at all.

She shook her head,

"It's not that..."

"Then what? Molly, what the fuck? I'd really like to know what the hell is wrong that you would swear off an entire profession no matter what, when you don't even know me that well." He glared at her now and she shrank back a little. He certainly knew how to show his authority.

She took another large gulp of her drink and set it down, playing for time.

"Molly?" His tone was clipped and stern.

"I'm sorry, I know it sounds awful. It sounds rude and disrespectful-"

"Too bloody right it does. You have no idea what we do for this country. The risks we take, the sacrifices we make and you sit there in - in judgment, it's just-"

"I'm very aware of the sacrifices Charles thank you!" She cut across him and he stopped. There was obviously more to this.

He indicated that she should carry on, but he was still pissed off and she could tell. Hostility was pouring off him in waves and she wished desperately that they could be back in their flirty bubble of less than an hour ago.

"It's Lily."

"Your best mate Lily?"

"Yes, we have a pact-"

Charles snorted,

"A pact?! What are you 12?!"

Molly drew herself up and now it was her turn to glare.

"I understand you are offended, but you can either let me explain or I can leave now." Her words cut through him.

"I'm sorry, please finish." He looked embarrassed that he'd spoken in such a petty manner.

"Lily's family are my family too. My Mum is great, but my Dad is a disaster. I have a ton of siblings and our house was always so chaotic, I used to escape to Lily's whenever I could. We fought like cat and dog, but we were always there for each other.

Her mum just looked after me like I was one of her own. She only had Lily and she liked having me around as an honorary daughter.

Lily's Dad was our hero. He was everything a Dad should be. Funny, loving, helpful, but strict when he needed to be. He was the love of Eileen's life, that's Lily's mum. Anyway, he was in the army so he was posted away a lot, but when he was based here he was home every night, hardly went to the pub, always there for tea and bath, helping Lily with her homework and me when I was there. We loved him so much." Molly's voice cracked and she took a deep breath.

Charles had a very uneasy feeling about where this story was going. Molly took another drink and composed herself.

"Anyway, we were in primary 5, it was 1990-"

"The Gulf War." Charles said quietly.

"Yes." Molly nodded. "Glen, Lily's Dad was posted to Iraq. We didn't think much of it, we were used to him being away, but slowly we noticed this time it was different. Eileen was more worried and there was so much on the news about it. I remember lying awake at night worrying that Saddam Hussein was going to come and bomb us. I didn't understand war, I was a kid. To be honest I don't understand it now. Anyway, our teacher's brother was in the navy and she used to speak about what was happening a lot, she didn't believe in keeping stuff from kids.

It felt like it started to dominate our lives, then one day, Lily wasn't at school. We obviously didn't have mobile phones then. I went home and my mum was sitting at the table crying. It took me ages to get it out of her, but Glen had been killed while he was on patrol. I ran to Lily's house round the corner and I'll never forget the sound of her mum wailing when I went in, it was like a wounded animal. She was broken."

Molly shook her head,

"Lily was sitting in her bedroom staring at a picture of her dad. I didn't know what to say, but she just calmly said,

'Promise me Molly, this won't ever happen to us.'

I didn't know what she meant then, but she made me swear,

'When we grow up we won't marry anybody in the army or the navy or the RAF, nobody that will go to war, nobody that can die at work.'

And I swore just like that because she was my family."

Charles sighed,

"I'm so sorry Molly."

"I know."

"And you've both kept to this pact? All these years?"

"Yes, the alternative would be too hard. It ruined everything for Lily and Eileen. They've never got over it and Lily had to stay with her grandparents a lot because her Mum wasn't able to look after her properly. She and I have protected ourselves ever since."

"So what, does she screen every potential date?" Charles asked disbelievingly.

"Yeah, pretty much. Name and what do they do, that's what she asks. Nights out, holidays, online, it's like her mantra."

"I understand where you're coming from Molly, but you have to remember that Glen knew what the risks were when he signed up. He did his job, served his country, in the full knowledge of what could happen. And not everybody dies."

"That doesn't make it any easier."

Charles nodded and just then their food arrived. Molly wasn't sure she'd be able to eat. Her stomach was in such a knot.

"Will you excuse me a minute please?" Molly stood up.

"You're not leaving are you?" Charles sounded worried.

"No, I'm not, I just need a minute."

Charles watched her go, his heart heavy. He couldn't believe the turn of events. He'd been so hopeful for the night ahead and now everything had shifted.

When Molly returned, they both began eating slowly. There was an awkward silence.

"Will you tell me about what happened to you?" Molly ventured shyly. She wasn't sure if she was overstepping the mark.

Charles signed, he felt hurt by what she'd told him, that something which had happened so many years ago was stopping their blossoming relationship in its tracks. It made him want to clam up, not share anything, to punish her somehow.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to..." Molly focussed on her fork and didn't look at him again. This was awful, the atmosphere between them was so strained.

She looked so sad sitting across from him. He wanted to scoop her up and hold her, protect her from the world where an amazing Dad is stolen from his family just by doing his job. He tried to put aside his pride and see things from her perspective. Having been through what he had, it wasn't as difficult as he thought, to see her point of view. He began to speak,

"We were at a checkpoint. We had intelligence about a suspect we were tracking and there was some confusion about stopping this truck. In the end it was stopped between two gates, there was a lot of shouting, I lost focus for a moment and then I was on the ground. Two bullets hit me, one in the stomach, one in the leg. I thought that was it."

Molly looked at him with eyes full of unshed tears as he continued,

"All I could think about was-"

"Sam." she breathed.

Charles looked shocked.

"Yes, Sam." He nodded. He was amazed at her intuition. "Anyway if it wasn't for Georgie, our medic, I wouldn't have made it out alive."

"So you owe him a lot then?"

"Her actually. Georgie is a girl, well, woman. She's pretty amazing."

Molly's gut twisted. She felt jealous of how he spoke about this other girl which then made her feel guilty. She had no claim on Charles, especially now, yet to hear him speak about another girl with whom he'd shared a life changing event, she found it very difficult. How could she ever compete with someone who saved lives for a living, who'd saved his life?

"So you came back to the UK after?" Molly tried to divert the conversation away from this Georgie who by now looked like Megan Fox in combats in Molly's mind and who Charles was secretly in love with. Jealousy does crazy things to your brain.

"Yes I was brought back as an emergency, had a few operations here then went into rehab. It all happened 6 months ago now."

"And are you ok now?"

"I suppose."

"What does that mean?"

"There was another soldier injured that day. His name was Smurf, well Dylan, but we all knew him as Smurf."

"Knew? Did he not survive?"

"No, but he didn't die right away. He made a good recovery, then two months later he dropped down dead from a bleed in his brain."

"Charles I'm so sorry." A tear ran down Molly's cheek.

"That's not the worst of it though." Charles looked haunted now, his food forgotten on his plate.

"What could be worse?" Molly whispered, almost afraid to ask.

Charles continued as if he was reading a monologue. As if Molly wasn't there listening, lost in his own thoughts,

"Smurf had a twin brother Geraint. He was in my charge as well. He died on our third tour. I crawled out to retrieve his body so Candy (their Mum) and Smurf held me up on this pedestal. At Smurf's funeral, Candy said something to me that I'll never forget..."

Molly held her breath.

"...'I gave the army my boys and they gave me back a flag.' She looked at me like she hated me, she'll never forgive me."

Charles choked a little at these words.

Molly reached over and touched his hand,

"It wasn't your fault though."

Charles drew back his hand,

"Excuse me." he stood quickly and headed for the gents.

Molly sat back, exhausted. So much pain, so much grief. She reckoned this would be in the top 5 worst dates of all time. The waiting staff had been watching them curiously and Molly figured they were probably taking bets on who would do a runner first.

She caught the waiter's attention and ordered two more gin and tonics and two single malts. They were on the table by the time Charles returned.

"What's this?" he asked warily.

"It's whisky. We're going to have a toast."

Charles looked more than skeptical,

"A toast to bloody what Molly?" he asked bitterly.

Molly lifted her glass and her voice shook,

"To Glen, to Geraint, to Smurf. Absent friends."

Charles looked at her amazed. She'd taken a horrific moment of recollection and turned it into something poignant. He swallowed against the lump in his throat that he'd worked so hard to get past by doing some deep breathing in the toilets and pushing down his emotions into the box he liked to keep them locked up in. He lifted his glass,

"Absent friends."

They clinked glasses and downed the whisky in one shot, both gasping from the burning liquid sliding down their throats.

"Another?" asked Charles.

Molly nodded,

"Are we getting drunk then? What about your car?"

"I was always going to leave it in town and come back tomorrow, but I hadn't planned on ending up inebriated. However, since none of this is going as I'd planned, I figure why not?"

"Funny I was thinking the same." she ventured a small smile. Charles gazed back at her, drinking her in, wondering what he should do next.

The waiter appeared then,

"Shall I take these plates away?" he eyed the half eaten food.

"Yes thank you." Molly smiled.

"Would you like to see the dessert menu?"

"No thank you, but keep the drinks coming." Charles sounded flippant now and the waiter didn't question him further.

Suddenly Molly remembered something,

"You said to Sam on the phone that you're not working just now. Is that just because you're on sick leave?"

"Sort of."

Molly looked expectantly at him.

"Basically I'm deciding what to do, about the army."

"What do you mean?"

"Once I was stable in the hospital, Rebecca came to see me. She was practically hysterical, accusing me of being selfish, not thinking of Sam. She told me she always knew something like this would happen, that Sam was at risk of being left without a Father every time I went to work. It made me think, more than I had done before.

I'd made it through almost 4 tours without so much as a broken bone, I suppose I thought I was invincible. Then I realised I was far from it and I looked back. I've spent a lot of time away from Sam, I always thought I made up for it in between by taking him as much as I could, but if I didn't make it back one day, where would that leave him?

Rebecca demanded I resign my commission and I almost did."

"Almost?" Molly raised an eyebrow.

"My boss wouldn't accept my resignation right away. Told me it was a knee jerk reaction, that I needed more time."

"And do you?"

Charles nodded,

"Yeah I think I do. They've let me have extended leave, agreed to a transfer up here, accommodated me wanting to be here in Edinburgh for Sam..."

"But?"

"In return they've asked me to do one more tour before I make my final decision."

Molly gasped,

"You're going back?"

"It's a short tour, 6 weeks."

"How can you be ready though? You can't be back to full fitness surely?"

"It's a non-combat tour, a humanitarian mission, supporting NGOs in a refugee camp in Kenya. I won't be going on a battle field."

Molly relaxed a little,

"When do you leave?" she felt a crushing disappointment and an urge to hold onto him and beg him not to go, all rolled into one.

"2 weeks. Luckily I'll be back in time for Sam starting uni."

"He'll appreciate that I'm sure, but what about after? How will you decide?"

"I'm hoping I'll just know, that I'll just get a feeling for what's right."

"What does Sam think about it all?"

"He's surprisingly practical about the whole thing actually. Obviously when he came to the hospital he was in a state, but when I apologised for putting him through this he told me that me being in the army was all he'd ever known and he'd never resented my absence. He said he had always loved the extended times I was at home when I could be with him on week days and although he missed me when I left he accepted it. He's really happy I've moved here to be near him especially because he and Rebecca are not getting on very well these days, but he says leaving the army is my decision."

"Wow he sounds very grounded and mature, especially for his age. He puts some of my pupils to shame I can tell you."

"I'm sorry, all we've done is talk about my work, we should talk about yours now." Charles was desperate to move into a cheerier topic of conversation.

Molly wasn't finished though,

"In a minute, please, I don't want to leave anything unsaid." She sounded so earnest, it tugged at Charles' heart and he nodded.

"What else is there to say though?"

"Why would you go back even though you know the dangers? You've been through this huge trauma, you know what it's like to be at death's door. Why keep going?" Molly desperately wanted to know, he could see her trying to understand his choice.

"When I said earlier that I wasn't very good at the life Rebecca wanted, you know settled?"

Molly nodded.

"Well I guess that's part of it. I always preferred being on tour, living out of a Bergen. The army is all I've ever known, all I've ever wanted, it's hard to question that and consider living my life differently. I'm at a crossroads I guess. I just need to decide which way to go."

"What made you go in in the first place? You had Rebecca and Sam, why would you want to go?"

"I told you there were expectations on me after we fell pregnant. I loved Sam so much, but I know now I was with Rebecca out of duty. That wasn't good for either of us. When I came out of uni, I decided the army would be a chance to escape so I did a year at Sandhurst and never looked back. I loved it, it made sense, not to Rebecca or my family, but to me."

"I get that."

Charles was puzzled now,

"What do you mean?"

"My family didn't get why I wanted to go to uni. I told you, life was chaotic. The expectation for me was leave school, get a job in a nail bar or a hairdresser until I met some guy that would get me pregnant at 18 and then spend the rest of my life producing kids and running after him."

"Why would that be the expectation?"

"Because that's what my Mum did. She's proud of me obviously and secretly she was always the one telling me to do more, do better, have a better life. My dad didn't like me going against the status quo though. I don't really see him much."

"I'm sorry." Charles didn't know what else to say.

Molly shrugged,

"It's ok, I've made peace with it now." She paused. "Thank you for explaining things to me though, about you I mean. It helps to see the other side of things."

"You're welcome." Charles looked at her seriously. Despite everything that had been said that evening, his attraction to her had not lessened one bit. He wanted her and frustratingly, he could tell she felt the same, but she wouldn't let herself take the chance.

"Molly..." he started.

"Yes Charles?" She sounded sad again.

"What do we do now?"

"I don't know." Her shoulders sagged.

"Cards on the table Molly, I wanted tonight to be the start of something. There's something between us, I felt it the minute I helped you up from the ground on Saturday. I can't walk away, I don't want to..."

Molly sighed, she wiped her hand against her cheek as silent tears appeared.

"Molly-"

"I can't Charles, I'm sorry, I want to, but I can't. Knowing you're leaving so soon? What if we started something now and then you left. I'd be here worrying myself sick. Then if something happened to you, then where does that leave me? I can't risk getting hurt like that."

"You know a non-army boyfriend could get hit by a bus right?"

Molly rolled her eyes,

"I realise that, but I'm sure the statistics are stacked more in favour of not being hit by a bus than being shot while on active duty."

"What about that saying, 'it's better to have loved and lost than never loved at all.'?"

"People used to trot that out to Eileen all the time. It didn't help."

"You're shutting yourself off from something that could be really good for both of us."

"I know Charles."

Silence.

"Look I know we live in the same street, but I understand if you just don't want to see me again." She sounded pained.

Charles reached across the table suddenly,

"No! That's the last thing I want." He surprised them both with his sudden flash of passion. "I mean, no, couldn't we just see how we get on as friends?"

"I'd like that...but..."

"But what Molly?"

"Can we be friends? Knowing that we would both want more if the situation was different?"

"I hope so." Charles took a long drink to steady his nerves. "I'd rather have you in my life a little than not at all and let's face it, I don't know anybody else in this city. I need someone to hang out with for the next two weeks."

Molly appreciated his attempt at being positive though she could see from his face that he felt as crushed as she did.

"Friends it is then." She smiled a small smile at him, "But I won't change my mind Charles."

"I know." Charles nodded sadly.

They both wondered separately how they were going to manage this situation. If the kiss in Molly's living room was anything to go by they'd have to work especially hard to not get carried away.

Molly was struggling already. She'd had a lot to drink and all she wanted was to go home and pick up where they'd left off. Now she'd have to work more at being his friend than flirting and she was already worrying about him going to Kenya.

Charles tried to button up his emotions and accept their plan. Deep down though, he hoped that maybe she would change her mind if they spent enough time together, but realistically he knew she wouldn't. It was such a waste. What if she met someone else while he was away? He'd have to come back and see them together. He suddenly realised she had spoken and he'd not paid any attention,

"What? Sorry?"

"I said could we have pudding now?"

Charles smiled at her,

"Yes of course and let's talk about something more cheery please."

"Agreed. Now what kind of pudding person are you? Chocolate? Toffee? Fruity?"

He thought for a moment.

"Oh you're not a cheese and biscuits person are you?"

He laughed,

"No! Personally I don't see that as pudding."

"Exactly! Thank goodness, if it turned out that you prefer that to cake then there really would be no hope for us."

They both realised what she'd said, but chose to ignore it. Inside though a tiny spark bloomed in Charles' chest. Maybe there was hope?


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Sorry for the delay in updating. I've been so busy with work as we are coming up to a massive annual event this weekend so working most days. Roll on summer break, spending more time with my daughter and writing more frequently! Can't wait!**

 **The property stuff in this chapter might be rubbish. I literally just made it up to fit the story!**

Chapter 8

Molly and Charles continued to discuss the relative merits of various desserts, but five minutes later had given up hope of attracting the waiter's attention long enough to get a menu.

Molly sighed,

"Listen, why don't we just get out of here?"

"I thought you wanted pudding." Charles sounded dismayed.

"I do! I just know somewhere else we can go where we won't have to resort to a megaphone to get served."

"Ok, but we've still got the problem of getting his attention for the bill." Charles' gaze flickered to the waiter again.

"Hang on." Molly stood up, straightened her dress and walked straight over to the cash desk where the waiter was trying to look busy, but obviously just ignoring them. Molly noticed him trying to slip his phone in his pocket.

"May we have the bill please?"

"Yes Madam, one moment please."

"Thanks so much." Molly smiled her best kilowatt smile and sashayed back to her seat.

"If I'd gone up there I'd still be waiting." grumbled Charles.

"What can I say? I'm persuasive."

The bill appeared on their table within a few minutes and both Charles and Molly reached for it.

"What are you doing?" Charles asked reaching it first.

"Checking the bill?"

"Why?"

"To see how much my half is."

"I invited you."

"And?"

"And I'd like to pay."

"And that's very kind, but this has not turned out to be the date you were expecting so I think it's best we just split it."

"Molly please, I want to."

"Why?" Molly suddenly felt a flicker of rage in her stomach. "Do you think just because you live in a posh flat with your posh job you should pay? I have my own money you know..." Suddenly she ran out of steam. The sheer disbelief on his face made her realise she'd read the situation completely wrong.

She looked down mortified,

"I'm really sorry." she said quietly.

Charles could see how upset she was, but he had no idea why,

"Where did that come from?" he asked gently.

She shrugged and continued to look at the tablecloth.

"Molly?"

She realised he was very well practiced at getting information out of people.

"It's vestiges of my old life. I forget sometimes and I turn into this scrappy little girl again fighting for everything I've got and trying to prove to everybody that I'm worth just as much as they are..." she trailed off.

"Is this to do with your family?"

She nodded.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Maybe once I've had a few more drinks and some cake, but let's just go, please." She finally looked at him and he nodded.

As she gathered her stuff he walked quickly to the cash desk, bill and credit card in hand before she could change her mind about him paying.

Outside, they hailed a taxi.

"Where are we going?" Charles asked.

"You'll see." She smiled knowingly, "Grassmarket please." She told the driver and off they went.

-OG-

"It looks like an Italian coffee shop to me." Charles sounded doubtful as they stood outside a small restaurant in the Grassmarket.

"Well it is an Italian coffee shop, but it's a restaurant too and it's open until 2am and serves the best cheesecake ever. What's not to love?!"

"Regular are you?" Charles laughed.

"Something like that, come on."

She pushed through the door to the little eatery and Charles was hit by the warmth and tantalising smells of coffee, herbs and wine.

"Ah Mollee! You come! How are you darlink?" A dark haired woman bustled over to Molly kissing her on both cheeks. "And who is zees?" Her deep voice was heavily accented, but filled with warmth as she looked Charles up and down.

"This is my friend Charles. Charles this is Mimi, this is her place."

"Very pleased to meet you Mimi." Charles shook her hand.

"Ahh an Englishman no? Very nice Mollee. Come come I find you a table. Cosy, in the corner, perfect for rrromance." She rolled her "r" to make it sound more suggestive and Molly ducked her head embarrassed.

When they were settled and had ordered, Molly took a deep breath.

"I really am so sorry Charles, I shouldn't have said what I said especially about your posh flat and job." She took a large drink of water, "It was so unkind."

Charles touched her hand across the table and she didn't pull away.

"It's ok, I can see it was a heat of the moment thing. And for the record my posh flat is rented and there's nothing posh about crawling around a desert with 15 guys who haven't showered for 3 days!"

"Thank you." Her voice sounded small.

He nodded.

"You must never think you're not as worthy as anyone else Molly. It's luck, all of it, where you're born, who you're born to, it's what you do with your life that matters. And you've obviously made a success of yours."

"I'm not sure about that. 35 and single."

"Ditto."

"Yeah, but you've got Sam."

"Doesn't mean I'm not lonely."

She was shocked to hear such an emotional admission from him and he was shocked to have said it. Something about Molly just had him opening up pockets inside himself he thought were tightly closed.

"It's a bit shit isn't it?"

"Yeah it is." He agreed.

Their order arrived and Molly smiled as he took a bite of cheesecake.

"See?" she teased.

"Wow, good choice!"

She laughed and started on hers. They ate silently for a few moments.

"My Mum and Dad never had much money. Well that's not true, they had enough, but my Dad just spent it down the pub. My Mum's got a better hold of it now, she works and she guards her wages well, but when I was younger it wasn't like that. It made me very careful, I used to save and save and save just in case. I never quite got over the threat that we might be evicted. Apart from my graduation, the best day of my life was when I bought my first flat. I'll never forget that feeling of security." Molly beamed.

Charles smiled, her joy was infectious.

"How did you end up in the cottage then?"

"Well when I'd been working for a few years, I decided I'd like somewhere bigger and nearer the beach so I sold my first flat and moved."

"To the cottage?"

"No, to a new flat near the beach, I was there for a few years."

"And the cottage? Did you buy that with Daniel?"

"No! In hindsight, I suppose I always suspected something might not work so I didn't get a joint mortgage or anything. I'd always loved our street and I used to walk along on my way home to the flat and wish that one day I could live in one of the cottages. Anyway one day it was up for sale. I went to see my lawyer and he told me if I could rent my flat out I could buy the cottage. Daniel wanted to buy it with me, but I said no. Eventually he did move in with me and rented his flat out. Luckily we'd drawn up an agreement so when he moved out, the lawyers sorted it and he got a return on what he'd been paying me and I wasn't stuck trying to buy him out completely."

"Wow you've really got your head screwed on with this stuff. And I believe you're something of a property magnate as well."

"Not really, I see it as a pension fund. My Dad sees it as me crawling further up my own backside and it's one of the reasons he doesn't speak to me."

"So where is your flat? You said it was near the beach? Is it far from our street?"

Molly blushed and laughed,

"Um well you know the block you live in?"

"Yes." Charles wondered where she was going with this.

"Well it's two floors above yours." She waited for his reaction, unsure what he'd say.

"You own a property in my building?"

"Yes."

"You used to live in my building?"

"Yes."

"And you said I lived in a posh flat! And you have one of those posh flats!"

"I know I know, I'm sorry." Molly shook her head, but smiled.

"I'll forgive you I guess. For a minute I thought you were going to say you own my flat!"

"No I know the person in mine and it's definitely not some handsome posh boy, but there's an inordinate amount of you these days. I think you're taking over!" Molly smiled.

"Would have been interesting...you...being my landlady..." Charles looked coy.

Molly could tell he was flirting, she had to head him off,

"Should we get another drink?"

"Uh sure yeah."

Once their second round had arrived, Molly was definitely starting to feel the effects. She knew she would have to drink plenty of water to avoid a hangover and to keep her head a little clearer. Charles flirting with her was not helping her resolve. Picturing him heading off into the sunset to goodness knows what was the only thing keeping her on her side of the table.

"So we've covered my living arrangements, what about you? Where did you live before you ventured over the wall?"

"Was that a test to see if I'm a Game of Thrones fan?"

Molly melted a little more,

"Maybe...glad to see you got the reference."

There was that smile again and the look, she squeezed her knees together tighter, Charles holding her gaze. Then he shook his head a little.

"My parents have a house in Bath."

"Where Sam lives?"

"Not exactly. Sam lives with his Mum in a house with her new bloke. They previously lived in the family home and I moved back to my parents when we split up, but obviously I kept paying for the house cos it was Sam's home. Eventually though, Rebecca decided it was too small, found a guy with a healthy bank balance and moved in with him." Charles grimaced, "It's all very cliche."

"Have you been living with your parents since you split up? Wasn't that a long time ago?"

"No I only stay there when I'm in bath and when I have Sam. The rest of the time I stay in my house, which I own," he said with a smirk, "it's near work."

"That's a lot of moving around."

"You get used to it. Like I said I've never been very good at being settled. Hoping that might change now I've moved here. New start, new outlook." He sounded wistful. Molly wondered if it was his injuries that had prompted this new outlook.

"How bad was it, when you were shot I mean?"

"Well...it's never good when you get shot." Charles attempted to deflect with his gallows humour.

"You know what I mean," Molly's face was serious.

"It was touch and go. I had to have a few ops, internal bleeding and all that. But like I said, Georgie worked wonders and I'm here today, that's all that matters."

Molly felt that pang again,

"So...Georgie, have you known her long?"

"You mean is there anything between us?"

Molly's eyebrows shot up,

"Well um no no...that's um...well." She gave up covering up her question. "Nothing like saving someone's life to get a relationship off to a good start..."

"The answer is no. She's a colleague, a good mate and is strictly off limits as she is Elvis's ex."

"Elvis? Up his own arse, thinks he's God's gift to women Elvis?"

"I'm afraid so."

"So how did that come about then?"

"They met while they were on tour."

"And broke up when his constant flirting drove her mad by any chance?"

Charles looked awkward,

"Well, they were engaged-"

"Were?"

"- and he left her at the altar-"

"Oh my God that's awful!"

"- and he sent me to tell her on the day, at the venue when she was already there in her dress."

Molly sat gobsmacked.

"Lost for words Molly?! Is this a first?!"

"He sent you to tell that poor girl when she was already in her dress?! I like him even less now! How can you still be mates with him after that?"

"He's a good bloke, I know him better than everybody else, he had his reasons. I'm not defending him, I'm just saying I wouldn't write him off."

"Sounds like he's bloody lucky to have you."

Charles shrugged. Molly continued,

"And Georgie will still work with you even after you were the one to tell her?"

"Luckily yes, she's an excellent medic."

"And their paths don't cross at work? Did she have to transfer as well as put her life back together after he dumped her?"

Charles shifted nervously,

"Their paths don't cross much no, Elvis is um...he's special forces."

Molly stopped her glass halfway to her mouth,

"Special Forces? Elvis who can't watch where he's running is Special Forces?"

Charles laughed,

"You really hold a grudge don't you?! And yes he is Special Forces and he's the one you want when you're in trouble. No doubt about it. He has a great team, they're an elite squad."

"I'm sure they are unless you happen to stand in their way on the pavement." Molly grinned cheekily. "Sorry couldn't resist."

She sat back,

"Wow, that's a lot of information to process. My friend's lives seem so tame compared to all that."

She shook her head and sipped more of her drink. She knew she was pushing the subject, but she asked anyway.

"So if she wasn't off limits would you be interested?"

"Molly I do believe you're jealous." Charles leaned forward.

"I'm just interested." Molly feigned innocence.

"No she's not my type. Although come to think of it I'm not sure I have a type, but no, Georgie and I are just mates and that's how I like it."

"Mates. Like us then." Molly looked serious now.

"No Molly not like us." Charles downed his drink. "Another?"

"I think I better switch to coffee." Molly was glad of a distraction. They kept veering towards the proverbial elephant. They were trying to be mates, but wanting more and it was her who was stopping them having it.

"Are you a coffee fan then?" Charles asked.

"Didn't used to be, I was always 'a teabag will do me', but then Daniel got me into it. My Dad used to say 'what are you drinking that shit for, you don't even like coffee?'. He saw it as yet another betrayal of my working class roots."

"Ah I see. Well I suppose I'm allowed to be a coffee connoisseur what with being so posh." He winked.

"I guess you are _Captain_ James." Molly emphasised his rank and Charles eyes darkened with lust.

"Molly..."

She realised what she'd said so she tried to deflect yet again,

"So Nespresso?"

Charles was thrown, still recovering from the effect her addressing him as 'Captain' had had on him and certain regions of his body.

"Um yes, Nespresso, is there any other?" he laughed.

"I wonder if I can guess your poison."

Charles laughed as she reeled off various flavours in the range. Eventually she threw her hands up,

"I give up!"

Charles smirked,

"If you must know it's Rosabaya. I have my coffee machine flown out to wherever I am-"

"At great cost to the British Tax payer." Molly said pointedly.

"- but I need it because I'm not a fully functioning soldier until I have my first cup."

"You must have to take a lot of pods in that kit bag." Molly mused.

"Every time I'm in London I go to the Oxford Street store and stock up so I've got plenty with me. Don't know what I'll do this time, I won't have a chance to go before I leave."

"Good job we have a shop here then isn't it?" Molly smiled.

"Really? You don't! How did I not know this?" Charles was genuinely surprised and his excitement made her laugh.

"I don't know I would have thought you'd have done your Nespresso research."

"Well I'll just need to make a visit there soon. Maybe you could come with me and we could take advantage of their free samples?"

"I'd like that." Molly was sincere. "And of course there's all the other touristy stuff we'll have to do."

"I'm not a tourist! I'm a native!"

"Steady on mate, I don't think you can call yourself that just yet!"

They laughed and then lapsed into a comfortable silence.

"So Molly are you going to give me your number then so we can arrange these activities?" Charles asked slightly warily, unsure if their arrangement meant she wouldn't give him her number.

Molly nodded,

"Give me your phone." she held out her hand.

Charles handed it over, never taking his eyes off her face. He watched as she opened his contacts, programmed in her number and gave him it back with an inviting smile. They both knew they were playing with fire. After a few seconds her phone buzzed on the table.

"And now you have mine." Charles held up his phone.

She held his gaze a little longer before looking away. She had to fight the urge to go to him, but she'd made her case, she couldn't back down. She wouldn't.

They stayed at their little table drinking, talking, getting to know each other more and more until Mimi came to tell them she was closing up soon.

"I thought you said this place was open until 2 a.m.?" Charles sounded confused.

Molly squinted at her phone and laughed,

"It's 1.55 a.m.!"

"How can it be? Have we really been sitting here all that time?"

"Looks like it. I'll just go and settle the bill." She looked pointedly at Charles.

He held his hands up in mock surrender,

"Fair enough, I got dinner, you get dessert."

Once they were finished and outside, waving Mimi goodbye, the chill of the night air hit Molly and she swayed a little. Charles placed his arm round her waist to steady her and she leaned into him.

"Come on let's find a taxi," he said.

They got one easily and Molly was grateful they'd be home soon. She felt exhausted as well as drunk and she thought the longer she was with Charles, the more likely she was to kiss him again. She leaned into him in the taxi and closed her eyes, the rhythm of the engine lulling her into a light sleep.

"Hey sleepy head, wake up."

She lifted her head suddenly to find they were outside her house.

"That was quick." she said disorientated.

"That's cos you slept all the way home." Charles smiled as he helped her out onto the pavement.

They stood awkwardly at her gate.

"Will you be alright getting in?" Charles asked shyly.

"Yes I'll be fine thanks." Molly looked at the ground. "Thank you for a good night, it was...interesting."

"Indeed, it wasn't exactly how I hoped it would be, but I enjoyed it anyway."

"Yeah sorry about that." She bit her lip nervously. "So...I'll text you and we can do our tourist bucket list."

"Yes, that sounds good."

They were both stalling.

"I better go-"

"Molly-"

Charles put his arm out to stop her. She jumped at the contact, his hand on her arm, bare apart from the wrap. He rubbed her arm before moving his hand to her chin, tipping her face up to him. He slid his hand onto her cheek and she leaned into his touch closing her eyes.

"-I really want to kiss you Molly."

"I know." She took his hand in hers and kissed it. "We can't keep going over this, it'll spoil the time we have together before you go."

"I'll go, but I'll come back, what then?"

"What if you don't come back?"

"I will."

"I hope so." Her voice was barely a whisper now. She hugged him around his waist, resting her head on his chest, committing the feel of him to memory, inhaling his scent. She wished desperately that things were different.

He squeezed her back tightly, holding her to him. He kissed the top of her head.

"Goodnight Charles."

"Goodnight Molly."

With that she pulled away, walked up the path to her front door and went inside.

 **AN: I know you're all probably shouting at the page, but remember they won't be like this forever! Thank you for keeping reading this! I'm truly touched by your lovely comments.**


	9. Chapter 9

AN: Just a short one because I was missing M&J! Thank you for the continued support and lovely reviews! Again I don't really know much about massage qualifications. It's just made up for my story! And dedicated to my own massage therapist who is a miracle worker!

Chapter 9

Molly spent the next day doing errands and clearing stuff out which was something she did each holiday. It left her feeling lighter and more relaxed for the next few weeks and ready for the new term.

Ella and Kate had been messages her about Charles, but so far she hadn't mentioned their date. She felt strange about sharing it. She wanted to keep it to herself for now. She still wasn't sure how she felt about it all other than a feeling of wishing things were different. She had a constant internal dialogue going on of _"what if..." "Maybe I should..."_ It made her clean and organise even harder to try and distract herself. She made a few trips to the dump and the charity shop and then to the local retail park for some storage boxes. Unbeknownst to her, Charles, sitting at his kitchen island working on his laptop, had seen her many trips out to her car and back and wondered if there would be anything left in her house at the end of the day.

When she finally got fed up, about 4.00 p.m., Molly thought she'd go for a run. As she tied her laces she toyed with the idea of texting Charles to see if he wanted to join her. She wanted to see him again, but she knew that was selfish when she'd shut him down last night. Maybe it was leading him on if she text him, but she couldn't stop thinking about him and it was just a run. She picked up and put down her phone three times before finally deciding not to ask him, but as she went to open her front door, she changed her mind and sent the text,

 _I'm heading out for a run. Fancy joining me? M_

She toyed with the idea of putting a kiss, but thought that would be pushing it. She paced a little, waiting for a reply. She was going to give him 5 minutes and then go if she hadn't heard from him, but he text back almost straight away.

 _Hey, that would be good, but don't want to hold you back?_

She couldn't decide if that was him letting her down gently and he didn't want to go or if he really was worried about not keeping up.

 _Just a short one for me tonight._

 _Great see you outside in 5. X_

So he was using a kiss, ok. Molly used her 5 minutes to have another wee, check her hair and face in the mirror and take a few calming breaths.

When she came out of her front door, Charles was already leaning on her fence doing some preparatory stretches. Everything that had happened the previous night suddenly came flooding back to Molly, she felt equally awkward and completely thrilled to see him. He watched her walk towards him, smiling a little,

"Hey."

"Hi." she replied shyly.

"You've been busy today." Charles remarked.

Molly looked puzzled,

"Have you had your spies out?"

"No, but my kitchen window affords a great view of your drive," Charles pointed, "I wondered if you were getting ready to flee the country."

Molly laughed,

"No just clearing out." She felt her stomach flip at the thought that he'd been watching her. It should feel creepy, but mostly she was flattered he'd noticed. "You ready to go?"

Charles looked awkward for a moment,

"Yes and no."

"How do you mean?"

"Well I'm ready to go, but I meant what I said about not wanting to hold you back. You're training for a marathon and I'm just training to get my leg strong again. It's been aching today so I'm a bit worried."

"If your leg isn't better in two weeks is there a chance you won't go on tour?" Molly tried to hide the hope in her voice.

Charles smiled knowingly,

"No, I'm afraid not. Like I said it's a humanitarian mission. If I'm not at full fitness I'll be confined to base. If I can show that I've improved enough to pass the next stage of the medical, I'll be allowed to go out with the guys to the refugee camps and actually be some bloody use." He sounded wistful, "There's no point in going if I can't help, but I won't be able to if they think I can't run away from whatever enemy we may or may not encounter." His shoulders sagged as if in defeat.

Despite the fact Molly didn't want him to go, she couldn't bear to see him so down. An idea came to her,

"Why don't I help then? I can be your running buddy - bound to be better than Elvis - and we can hopefully get you a bit fitter."

Charles face broke into a grin,

"Are you sure?"

"Yes why not? What else was I going to do with all these school holidays?"

"Rest? Recharge?"

"Bla bla!"

Charles laughed then.

"Although you mentioned an ache. Are you getting regular physio and massage?"

"Physio yes, but not massage specifically. Could you help me out?"

Molly looked doubtful,

"I could give you the number of a very good massage therapist that's NOT me."

Charles stood a little closer to her,

"Why not you?" he teased.

"Do I need to explain?"

"Yes." He was being deliberately obtuse now.

"Me running my hands over your body, being in close proximity to you lying on a treatment couch. It's got disaster written all over it."

"It's got potential written all over it Molly." Charles leaned in towards her, his voice low, his eyes dark.

She stepped back, breathless with desire as something twisted in her lower abdomen derailing her train of thought.

"Uh right, come on let's start with a short walk to get us moving." Molly sidestepped Charles and set off along the street leaving him to stride out to catch up with her.

"So you never did get round to telling me how you ended up doing massage when you're actually a teacher."

"Students work you know." Molly said pointedly.

"Did Tesco have no jobs then?" Charles replied just as cheekily.

Molly laughed,

"I did a short course during the summer I left school. It was a skills based thing from the careers service, but I really enjoyed it and they offered me the chance to do more. So I worked in a pub to get the money to pay for it and I worked bloody hard to get as many qualifications as I could during that first year at uni. After that, I was able to drop the pub job and get some regular clients. I worked at a health spa in a local hotel and just kept doing extra courses. I don't do it much now of course, except in the staff room if someone has a knot from being so tense!"

"So you can't help a poor injured soldier whose aching joints are stopping him getting fitter?" Charles fixed her with a puppy dog look complete with down turned mouth.

"Oh for goodness sake, I will take a look when we're back. You're probably just out of alignment and need a bit of readjustment. You need to go and see my guy for the full massage though, deal?!"

"I suppose I could do that." Charles smirked.

"Right are you warmed up enough?" they'd turned onto the prom by this point.

He nodded, Molly sounded a bit like him when he was ordering his unit about.

"Right we'll aim for a mile first. I don't talk while I run. If you need to stop, just let me know and DON'T push yourself."

"Yes Ma'am or should I say Miss, you can tell you're a teacher." Charles smirked.

"Yeah yeah, laugh it up Soldier Boy. Come on."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

When Charles and Molly reached the end of their street they slowed to a walk to cool down. Charles felt exhilarated, he couldn't remember the last time he'd enjoyed a run so much and it was all down to Molly. She'd encouraged him while keeping a close eye on his progress so he didn't overdo it. In the end they managed 4 miles and though he was aching he felt good. Just being in close proximity to her made him feel lighter, more positive. Her determination and focus shone through and he gravitated towards her warmth. He desperately wanted to hug her after their run, but he was also aware that she had drawn a clear boundary and he couldn't risk losing her completely. He'd rather have a small part of her in his life than none at all.

They stopped at her garden gate and Molly leaned against the fence to stretch out her calves. Charles followed suit looking sideways at her and smiling.

"What's that look for?" she asked.

"Nothing, I just really enjoyed that run, I felt stronger, thank you." he looked serious for a moment.

"Better than Elvis am I?" Molly teased.

Charles laughed loudly,

"Yes definitely, it's safe to say he's been replaced!"

Molly moved onto stretching her quads. In truth she was stalling. She'd loved being out with him. The time flew and she didn't feel like she was trudging as she often did when she was training alone. She felt sad at the thought of her evening stretching ahead of her, quiet, nobody to chat too. She wanted to give herself a shake. She didn't need a man to be happy. She had good friends and she supposed she had her Mum at a push. However, Lily was still in India and she wasn't ready to tell Kate and Ella about Charles yet.

"What are you thinking so hard about?" Charles tapped her forehead and she realised she'd been staring into space while holding her foot back towards her butt in the stretch. She shook her head,

"Nothing, just thinking about tea. Quite hungry after that run."

A silence hung between them, both wondering if they should suggest eating together. In the end, Charles broke it,

"I was going to sample some of the local take away fare if you fancy joining me?"

"That would be nice thank you. Which delicacies were you thinking of?"

"Chinese? Indian?"

"Chinese sounds good. Let me grab a shower first though." She shook the bottom of her t-shirt.

"Yeah me too. I'll be back over in 30 minutes."

"See you then. And..."

"Yes?"

"You're still tilting so I'll check your alignment when you come over. Don't wear jeans."

"Ok, see you then." Charles tried to sound as unfazed as possible, but his stomach was churning with excitement.

-OG-

20 minutes later, Molly had had the quickest shower of her life and was trying to do something with her wet hair. She knew Charles would be punctual so blow drying and straightening was out of the question. In the end she put it into two pigtails and hoped it looked cute instead of like a 5 year old on picture day. She put on some mascara and lip gloss and ran round the living room shoving random bits in drawers and cupboards.

Across the road, Charles had been ready for ages, an effect of enforced quick showers in the army. He wasn't one to hang about, but he knew landing on Molly's doorstep too early would stress her out. Eventually the clock ticked round and he wandered across the road.

She answered the door wearing knee length printed leggings and a pink vest top. Her hair hung in pigtails onto her tanned skin and his breath caught in his throat at the thought of holding them while...

"Charles? Are you coming in?"

"Uh yes, right, yes." He hastily tried to get a hold on his thoughts. His cotton sweatpants wouldn't afford much cover for any unwanted reaction in the groin area.

He followed Molly inside and through to her kitchen which was separated from the living room by a set of bifold doors. They'd been closed the last time he was here, but he'd been so busy kissing her at the bottom of her stairs, he doubted he'd have noticed if they were painted yellow with red spots.

For the first time he properly took in their surroundings. The comfortable living room featured a large sofa, arm chair and TV, what you'd usually expect, but towards the back of the room and all around the bifold doors, shelves groaned with row after row of books, more than Charles had ever seen in a small house. Certainly some of his friends from school had libraries in their large homes, but he always suspected they were there as a status symbol more than for a true passion for reading. He began to examine some of the titles back in the living room, noticing the eclectic mix of genres. Molly saw him looking and smiled,

"I'm a bit of a bookworm." she admitted shyly.

Charles looked up at her,

"A bit? I'm concerned you might have an addiction!"

"Yeah I probably do, but I guess it comes with the territory of being an English teacher."

Charles stopped suddenly,

"You're an English teacher?"

"Yes, why?"

"I just realised I never asked you what subject you taught." Charles looked embarrassed, "That's awful, I never asked."

Molly shrugged,

"It's not a big deal, honest, it never came up."

"Wow an English teacher." Charles looked a little awed.

"Ok calm down mate, it's not like I'm a brain surgeon."

"Yeah, but I bet you do mould young brains in some way."

"I try, but who knows?"

Charles stepped further into the kitchen,

"This place is a bit like a tardis isn't it?" He looked through to the conservatory which then opened onto a long garden, "It just goes on and on."

"I like it." beamed Molly.

"It's really lovely Molly, you've made it a home." Charles sounded sad.

Molly placed her hand on his arm,

"Hey, you'll get your flat there, give yourself time, you've just moved in."

Charles grimaced,

"I guess. I suppose it's the downside of working away so much, the house you go back to is just a stop gap. I've never really had roots other than at my parents in Bath."

"I bet their house is amazing!"

"It's pretty impressive I have to admit. Hopefully you'll see it one day." He looked at Molly with such intensity, she felt her heart open a little more.

"I'd like that." She said quietly and squeezed his hand. "Now come on let's order food I'm starving."

Once they'd ordered, Charles went back to looking at Molly's books while she set out plates and cutlery on her farmhouse style kitchen table. Then she appeared beside him holding a small stool.

"What are you going to do with that?" He asked suspiciously.

"You're going to sit in it so I can check your spine." She was all business though inside her heart was racing. "Take your t-shirt off and sit down."

"Well Molly I would usually expect to get dinner out of the way before I took my clothes off." Charles said with mock shock.

Molly swatted his arm,

"Sit down smart arse!"

Charles laughed and pulled his t-shirt up over his head. Molly tried to avert her eyes, but there was no escaping the sight of his bare chest. His muscle definition combined with tanned smooth skin left her desperate to run her hands down his pecs and dip her tongue into his six pack. She studiously looked at the floor while he sat down in front of her.

"I'm all yours." he teased.

 _If only_ , she thought.

"Ok just sit up straight." She laid her hands on his shoulders and felt him draw in a sharp breath. "Sorry if my hands are cold."

"Um no no...they're fine."

As she touched him she had to remind herself why she wasn't just walking round in front of him, climbing into his lap and letting nature take it's course.

She walked her fingers down each vertebrae and he shivered as he felt her warm breath ghosting over his skin.

"Ok stand up for me."

He stood as she continued her examination.

"Can you tuck your chin into your chest and then lean forward slowly until you're touching your toes?"

"Is this a wind up Molly? Is there actually a hidden camera?"

"No Charles. Are you stalling cos you can't touch your toes."

He turned and grinned at her over his shoulder before following her instructions.

"Impressive flexibility." Molly commented. "Ok come back up and sit down again."

"Daily yoga sessions while I was in rehab." Charles commented. "I thought they were a load of rubbish to start with, but they really helped."

"I'm glad, it's really good for you."

She continued checking his spine, asking him to stand up and sit down a few more times. The third time, she blushed, grateful he was facing away from her. She took hold of the waistband of his sweatpants and moved them slightly,

"I just have to move this down a little bit to check your hip if that's ok?"

"Yeah." His voice sounded choked and she would have bet everything that he was struggling as much as she was.

She was wrong, he was struggling more. At least Molly was getting to touch him. Charles had to endure feeling her hands all over his shoulders, neck and back while not being able to reach round and hold her. He wanted to pull her to him, crush her against his bare chest, lift her until her legs wrapped round his waist. And now she was pulling the back of his trousers down. He could feel his length hardening and it took everything he had not to touch her hand which was now resting just above his right buttock.

"Molly..."

"Uh yeah?" She was feeling around the base of his spine.

"Are you nearly done?"

"Yeah, sorry am I hurting you?"

"No...this is just a bit torturous you know...?" his words hung in the air.

"Um..." she didn't know what to say.

Suddenly Charles spoke in a rush, still standing and facing away from her,

"I really appreciate you taking a look and I get what you said last night, but you have to remember, what happened over there," he pointed to the bottom of her stairs, "those feelings don't just go away. I don't want to embarrass you...or me and...I do really want to be friends. This is just more difficult than I thought it would be." He risked looking over his shoulder again at her.

She was nodding,

"I know. It is, more difficult I mean. I'm on the same page as you if you're wondering. I'm sorry." She stepped back from him, "Your L4 and L5 are out." She took a card from a small corner desk and wrote on the back. "This is Gus's contact details and notes from looking at you, he should be able to fit you in if you mention I referred you."

Charles took the card, avoiding eye contact and hoping she couldn't see the bulge that was persisting despite his best efforts to think deeply unsexy thoughts. She put the stool away while he pulled his t-shirt back on before following her through to the kitchen again. She was leaning against the island looking out to the garden. He wrapped his arms round her, hugging her tightly and resting his chin on top of her head.

"Do you want me to go?"

She shook her head,

"No."

"Molly, I know we seem to be in this impossible position, but please believe me when I say I've only known you a few days, and I feel like I'd miss you if you weren't here. I'd rather you were in my life as a friend than-"

"-not at all." She finished his sentence for him.

"Yes."

She picked up one of his hands from around her waist and kissed it.

"Thank you for understanding." she said.

Just then the door bell rang shattering their calm.

"Food's here." Molly said briskly.

And just like that they each packaged up their feelings and got on with their evening, both knowing that it would be worse to be on opposite sides of the road that night than sharing time together in the same house where they both wanted more.


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: Just a wee short chapter. I feel like I'm not moving the story on much just now, but I know where I'm going with it, I just need to get there. Thank you for all your lovely reviews. It's a joy to read them all. I really am loving this process even on the days where I get a bit stuck.**

Chapter 11

"That was so good. I'm definitely putting that take away place on speed dial." Charles sat back and wiped his mouth with his napkin. "I'm stuffed."

"Coffee?" Molly asked as she cleared the plates to the sink.

"Please, I'm running low on supplies so I've been rationing myself."

Molly laughed,

"Take your pick." She pointed to her coffee machine and the little stand beside it which held an array of different pods.

Charles took his time selecting one as if he was choosing a fine wine. Once he'd chosen, he popped it in the machine,

"Mugs?" he asked as Molly loaded the dishwasher.

She pointed to the cupboard above the machine and smiled as Charles took out two, busying himself with making coffee for both of them. He held up one of the pods which Molly had told him she liked the other night and she nodded. She revelled in how comfortable he seemed in her kitchen and how comfortable she was allowing him to be there. After Daniel she'd shut the doors to her house and her heart. She didn't want to be hurt again and the best way to ensure that was to not let anyone get close, but she had to admit to herself she had missed the joy of sharing her space with someone else.

Once the initial awkwardness of earlier had worn off, they'd had a great dinner. They'd sat at Molly's table really getting to know each other and Charles couldn't remember a time he'd laughed so much. His stomach actually hurt as Molly regaled him with tales from the classroom with her quick witted way and cheeky smile. She felt like they were really connecting and she found herself wondering if that's where she'd been going wrong in previous relationships. Though she and Daniel had been friends first and look how that turned out. Charles brought her out of her reverie,

"Shall we retire to the drawing room?" Charles asked.

"What?!" Molly looked confused.

He laughed,

"It's just something my Mum says after we've had dinner."

"Do you _have_ a drawing room?" Molly asked warily.

"Um, kind of, it's just like a living room."

Molly watched as Charles carried both mugs through to _her_ living room,

"Charles?" She called after him, "Exactly how big is this house in Bath?"

"Sorry I can't hear you for the TV." Charles shouted through as he quickly switched it on.

He was definitely avoiding the issue and Molly suspected it was because he came from a very well off family. She sighed, yet another thing that set them apart from each other. However, other than the misunderstanding over the bill, he hadn't once made her feel like she was inferior to him and if he did come from royalty or something he certainly seemed very grounded. She decided to let it go for now.

"What are we watching?" she asked as she flopped down on the sofa beside him.

He handed her the remote,

"You choose. I just end up channel surfing and never watching anything all the way through."

"I like a man who lets me control the remote." Molly smiled mischievously.

"Good to know." said Charles as he sipped his coffee and pretended to be very interested in the TV.

-OG-

"Molly", Charles shook her shoulder gently. "Hey wake up."

"Oh sorry!" Molly sat up suddenly on the sofa.

"I'm starting to get a complex about my chat. You keep falling asleep on me."

"You should take it as a compliment. It means I feel comfortable with you." Molly said seriously, but she smiled.

"Well...ditto." Charles shifted nervously. "Im going to head home, but I'm going to the Nespresso shop tomorrow if you want to join me?" He tried to sound as nonchalant as possible.

"I have plans tomorrow-"

"It's ok." he said quickly.

"- but I'm free all weekend. How about we do some of the touristy stuff we talked about?"

Charles grinned,

"The weekend it is then."

Molly grinned back already wishing it was two days time.


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: Thank you everyone who has asked for an update, I can't believe people care about my wee story! I'm so touched! Apologies it's been so long. My planned writing over summer didn't happen and RL took over. I've also been working on some original writing so I had to go with that when I was inspired. I'm excited to be moving this story on now though.**

Chapter 12

"So this gun fires every day at 1300 hours?"

"Yes, though it's called the one o'clock gun not the 1300 hours gun." Molly laughed.

They were standing on the battlements of Edinburgh Castle on Saturday afternoon, halfway through their tourist weekend. They'd started at Holyrood Palace where they'd just looked around outside and then Molly had dragged Charles all the way up the Royal Mile until they'd reached the castle. He'd been amazed at how many shops they passed and the sheer volume of tartan on offer so she had to explain it was a very specific street and tartan certainly wasn't so prolific elsewhere! He'd loved seeing the architecture of the old town as well and Molly was a very willing tour guide, pointing out particular sites as they went.

Charles was very keen to see the castle and all its military history though Molly generally found that stuff a bit dull. She was happy to just take in the majesty of the castle itself and the beautiful views across the city. She smiled while the sun shone down and closed her eyes as the breeze blew her hair out of her face.

Charles looked up from examining the gun and caught her look of contentment. He enjoyed watching her for a few moments, taking a guilty pleasure in the fact that she was unaware of his staring and he could really look at her. She took his breath away and spending time with her brought him such peace.

He had begun to feel reluctant about going back on tour which was an alien feeling to him. Normally he was desperate to get back out there, but this time he wasn't and he was wrestling with this new experience.

He hadn't discussed it with anyone, not even his Mum who was usually his closest confidante if he ever felt the need. Over the years Jennifer James had learned to make the most of the rare opportunities when her son opened up to her while accepting that a lot of the time he was a closed book to everyone around him.

Charles had considered calling her, but he was afraid to admit what he thought was happening. When he'd first handed in his resignation, he'd done it because he felt it was the right thing to do, for Sam, for his family. He had a new perspective on the danger and he felt he had to act on it. However, when Major Beck refused to accept it and suggested Charles undertake a further tour before he made up his mind, a part of him was relieved. He wasn't ready to give up that part of his life though he hadn't told anyone that's how he felt. They were all still in shock from his injury and almost losing him, he didn't think it was fair to tell them he really wanted to stay in.

So he'd accepted the deal, made the right noises and told everyone what they wanted to hear, that he would make his mind up after the 6 weeks were complete. He'd even told Molly in the restaurant that he didn't know what he was going to do. He'd been trying to convince himself he hadn't yet made a decision, but deep down he knew he would want to stay in if they let him.

In the space of 3 days though, something had shifted for him. It was madness. He was a logical, practical person. He didn't make decisions based on a whim and he certainly didn't make decisions based on a girl he'd just met. However, in that moment on the castle battlements, sun shining, a sense of peace around them, he began to admit to himself that he didn't want to go. Simply because he didn't want to leave Molly.

He had wrestled with this thought constantly, his mind in turmoil. They weren't even a couple. He didn't know her that well. She made it clear she couldn't be with him if he was in the army. And there was the crux, if he wasn't in the army, he could be with her. And there was the madness again. He couldn't leave his entire career behind because of Molly. Who knew what would or wouldn't happen between them? There was no way he could consider changing his plans for the army on the back of some romantic notion. That just did not happen in his world.

He felt a flutter of panic in his stomach. Turning his back quickly, he closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths.

"Hey, are you ok?"

Charles felt Molly come up behind him as she spoke. She grasped both his shoulders and peered round him, her face was full of concern.

Charles nodded briefly,

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Could do with a coffee maybe?"

Molly looked unconvinced, but she nodded,

"Ok let's head off and get some lunch then."

She laced her arm through his and they walked towards the entrance. She could feel the tension in his body, but was at a loss to know what had caused it. Had she said something? Done something? She was sure they'd cleared the air on Thursday night, but now Charles seemed upset. Suddenly he tightened his arm round hers and slowed their pace,

"While I'm away...do you think...could we..."

Molly stopped,

"What? Charles what is it?"

"Can we keep in touch? I know that might be too much to ask, I know we're not a couple or anything." He shrugged trying to brush off his serious request.

"Of course we can! Charles you're not getting rid of me that easily. I expect daily reports, made on the British Army's time obviously." Molly joked, but inside she felt torn. She desperately wanted him to stay, but she knew it was for selfish reasons. She wanted him, pure and simple. She was drawn to him in a way that showed fate was really taking the piss. _I must have been really awful in another life,_ she thought. _First Daniel, now the potentially perfect man on my doorstep is buggering off to Africa and God knows where after that!_

Charles was still looking at her seriously. He stroked her hand that was resting on his arm and looked like he had more to say, but Molly could already tell when it was best not to push him. It was so strange, within a few days they'd fallen into this synchronisation with each other, recognising the other's boundaries, likes, dislikes. Molly kept reminding herself that this really wasn't possible, after all, they didn't really know each other.

She reached up then and hugged him tightly. He gasped then held her close to him and they stayed like that for a good while until it became apparent that they were blocking the path a little. After the third person had excused themselves around the embracing couple, they pulled apart awkwardly.

"I'm here Charles. I'm not planning to go anywhere unless you count my mini break next week. Other than that...I'm here." Molly spoke seriously and Charles felt the sincerity in her words. He knew he could speak to her while he was away, about anything really, other than the one thing he couldn't tell her. He didn't want to go.

-OG-

After they'd had some lunch, they spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around the Grassmarket.

"It looks different in the daylight." Charles joked.

"Yes and without the sizeable amount of alcohol we had before we were here on Wednesday!" Molly laughed remembering.

"What's that?" Charles pointed to a raised, circular, stone platform.

"That is the monument where the gallows once stood for hanging the poor unfortunate souls of the city."

"Oh, delightful." Charles shuddered a little.

"Don't tell me, Captain James of army bravery etc. is squeamish about a bit of history?!" Molly looked aghast.

"Well it's not the best thing to think about is it?!" Charles replied indignantly.

"True. I guess when you've stood on it during school trips at primary school, you're a bit more nonchalant about it all."

"Primary school trips?! What kind of horror education did you receive here?!"

"A very fine state education thank you, an institution I continue to slave away in every day!"

They laughed and chatted as they wound their way past the ghoulish site and up Victoria Street.

Charles gazed down at Molly's expression as she took in all the little shops and closes as they walked up the hill.

"You really love it here don't you?" he asked smiling down at her.

She nodded,

"Yep, wouldn't want to live anywhere else."

"That's how I feel when I'm in Bath, well until Rebecca makes life so difficult I can't wait to get away again."

Molly frowned,

"Maybe things will change as Sam goes through uni."

"You're a lot more optimistic than me." Charles replied darkly.

"If you don't mind me asking, how are things so bad."

"I don't mind you asking, but that is a long story for another day. This is too good a day to ruin thinking about my ex."

"It has been a good day. And I've got more on the list for tomorrow if you're up for it!"

"I'm all yours tourist guide yoda, what about - wait!" Charles stopped suddenly pulling Molly to an abrupt halt.

"What?"

"I just remembered you said earlier, something about a mini break? Are you going away?" Charles hated how panicked he sounded and it didn't escape Molly's notice.

"Um yeah, Lily is back tomorrow and we're going away for a few days."

"What's a few days?" Charles was worried now.

"Monday to Friday."

"Oh." His voice was small now. Five days she'd be gone. He tried to cover up his disappointment at the idea of her not being there all next week. The irony that he was leaving for 6 weeks was not lost on him. "Where are you off to then?"

"Ehm...Ibiza."

"Ibiza? Wow party island..."

Molly noted how Charles' face fell when she told him her holiday destination. Her heart pulled. If she was reading this right, he didn't want her to go and that made her equally happy at how he felt and terribly sad that their understanding meant she was still going away as a single girl. She hadn't mentioned her holiday, fearful of bursting the little bubble they were in, which was stupid since he was obviously going to find out at some point.

He walked on a little before coming to stand in front of a statue of a little dog.

"What's this?" Charles asked.

Molly moved to his side, still quite shocked at his reaction to her going away.

"This is Greyfriars Bobby. He's a local legend. After his owner died, he stayed by his grave for 14 years until he died himself. It's a sad story."

"Mm, but one of loyalty." Charles mused.

Molly eyed his stance. Feet apart, arms folded so his hands were under his armpits, jaw set. He looked like he was about to address his troops. He'd put his armour on, closed himself down. She shook her head and stepped up close to him, laying her hands on his folded arms.

"I'm not going on holiday to go mad and get with random guys Charles."

He lifted his chin slightly, affecting an air of indifference that she knew was an act,

"Why not? You might meet the perfect man."

Molly sighed and laid her forehead on his chest,

"What if there's a chance I've met him already and he's leaving in ten days?"

She felt the low rumble in Charles' chest as he spoke,

"He's coming back Molly. You just have to wait out."

She looked up then into Charles' eyes, serious and focussed on her.

"For how long though?"

"You know I don't have an answer for that yet Molly."

She nodded,

"Ok, let's put a pin in this just now and keep going with our good day."

"Ok."

They walked further in silence for a few minutes.

"I'm sorry for being a jealous idiot about your holiday."

"It's ok, I quite like you being jealous." Molly nudged his shoulder playfully and smiled.

"I don't know how to say this without sounding like some crazed stalker..."

"I'm pretty sure you're not one of them."

"I guess I'm just going to miss you. This week has been...well brilliant."

"I'll miss you too Charles." There was so much more Molly wanted to say, but right then, that seemed enough.


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: I'm sorry this has taken so long to get up here. I've been working on it for a few weeks, but struggled to move it on from the first few paragraphs. RL is so busy and it can sap my creativity. If only I could download the whole story from my brain to the computer and you'd all be able to read it right away. I can't thank you enough for all your reviews and kind kind comments. It makes me so happy to read them.**

 **On a side note I wondered if there's anywhere else that Our Girl FF is uploaded. From other people's AN's I can see there's some sort of community out there. I'd love to connect more with people if anybody can point me in the right direction!**

 **I hope you guys stick with me, I think it will be quite a long story so I hope that's ok, lots more to go!**

 **Many thanks from me :)**

Chapter 13

"Are you sure you're just going for 5 days?"

Charles was eyeing Molly's suitcase doubtfully as it lay open on her bed. She was carefully folding clothes and bikinis before laying them in along with toiletries, shoes and a host of other stuff Charles thought was probably surplus to requirements.

"Ha ha very funny, we can't all live out of a berten or whatever it's called."

Charles snorted with laughter,

"A Bergen, not a berten and it's a very efficient way to pack, travel and live." he lifted his chin with a smug smile then laughed at the expression of disbelief on Molly's face.

"Whatever you say, I couldn't pack lightly if my life depended on it." She went back to folding.

Charles sat back a little on the armchair in the corner of Molly's room. He was feeling uneasy about being there as any thoughts he'd had of getting upstairs into that room with Molly involved a lot more than helping her to lift her suitcase off the top shelf of her cupboard. He looked down at the carpet embarrassed as thoughts of carrying her up the stairs as he kissed her, flashed through his mind.

Unknown to him Molly was feeling the same. She hadn't intended having him here to pack, but it had all happened by accident.

They'd headed out on Sunday morning for more sightseeing, but after spending a morning at the Botanic Gardens the rain had started. Hoping it would go off after a while, they enjoyed a nice lunch in the restaurant at the Botanics, but the bad weather persisted. In the end they came back to Molly's and had hot chocolate to warm them up after the chill of the rain. Charles was leafing through the newspaper when Molly came out of the kitchen,

"I'm just going to run upstairs and look a few things out for packing."

"Do you want me to go?" Charles sounded like he was worried about overstaying his welcome.

"No no, I'm just getting my suitcase out ready for later." Molly grimaced. "I hate packing, but my taxi is booked for 6am tomorrow so I have to be done before I go to bed. Be back in a minute."

"Ok." Charles returned to the paper, trying to distract himself from how many hours they had together before he had to go home and know that she'd be gone tomorrow.

He was just settling into an article about the new IPhone when he heard a shriek from upstairs. Without hesitation, he bounded up the stairs two at a time,

"Molly?! Molly are you ok?"

"Ehm not really, oh my God!"

Then Charles heard the sound of the Hoover. Standing at the top of the stairs he was met by 3 doors and a corridor leading to a fourth. He had no idea where he was going so he followed the sound. At the end of the corridor, a door sat open. He peered inside to find Molly grimacing and examining the dust chamber of a cordless vacuum while holding the button down. He came close to her, examining her for signs of broken bones or blood, but she looked intact.

"What is it? You screamed!"

"Oh yeah," Molly shifted, her face growing redder by the second, "it was just a spider. Sorry if I scared you."

"A spider? With that scream I was sure you'd at least broken something." Charles smiled gently and patted her shoulder. "What's with the Hoover?"

"Well I hoovered it up and I was just spinning it for a couple of extra minutes to make sure it's at least knocked out. Hoovering them alone doesn't kill them.

Charles tried not to laugh,

"Something of an expert in spider homicide are you?"

"Don't take the piss! I bloody hate the buggers. I reached up to get my case and it crawled out. It was almost on me! Uugh!" Molly shuddered loudly.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wind you up, it was quite funny though." Charles nudged her shoulder as Molly hid a smile. "Come on I'll lift it down for you in case there's any more arachnids waiting to pounce."

"Don't even joke!" she sounded horrified.

Charles reached up to the shelf and effortlessly lifted the case. Molly couldn't help noticing the sliver of skin on his stomach which appeared as his t-shirt rode up when he raised his arms. She realised she was staring and although he had spoken, she hadn't heard what he said,

"Molly?" he repeated, "where do you want this?"

"Oh, ehm just there please." Molly pointed at the wooden blanket box which ran along the bottom of her bed.

Charles laid it down carefully then brushed his hands down his jeans,

"Bit dusty."

"Oh I know, I've not used it in a while." Molly went into what Charles assumed was an en suite and came back with some wipes before cleaning the case.

Charles took the opportunity to sit in the chair in the corner and looked around the room.

"This is a great room Molly, especially the wardrobes. Custom made?"

"How did you know that?" asked Molly straightening up.

Charles shrugged,

"I've always had an eye for furniture. I've dabbled a bit myself, nothing like that obviously," he pointed.

"I've got quite a lot of stuff and I wanted good storage so I got one of those companies in to design them to the specific space. With the sloped ceilings, it worked the best, but I know where to come if I need anymore added," Molly winked.

"Oh no I don't want you get an inflated idea of my ability! I made a built in shelving unit for Sam's cupboard once. I was so proud of it, Rebecca didn't share my enthusiasm," he grimaced. "But I've always fancied buying a fixer upper. You know a house that I could really get stuck into and do the work myself."

"Sounds good," Molly said smiling.

"Sounds impossible you mean. Apart from maybe when I retire."

Molly stood awkwardly. She was very tempted to say he could do it sooner if he left the army, but she knew it wasn't appropriate so she just started packing again and Charles went back to admiring the furniture.

So there we were, both with their own thoughts, Charles finding it particularly difficult not to gather her up and lay her out on the big bed she was standing at the foot of. Molly continued adding items to the case, catching his eye and smiling now and then. They made small talk about holidays and travel in general then the door bell rang.

"Expecting anyone?" Charles enquired.

Molly shook her head,

"No. God I hope it's not my Mum." She rolled her eyes. "Back in a minute."

Charles was a bit concerned, was he about to be introduced to Mrs Dawes who by all accounts could give him a run for his money in the shouting at people stakes. He heard Molly's footsteps on the stairs, the click of the front door then an unexpected silence. One which was quickly broken,

"What the hell do _you_ want?" Molly's voice was raised and Charles was on his feet instantly. Was Molly in danger? He darted out of her bedroom and was halfway down the stairs before he saw Daniel standing on the front porch. He stopped suddenly.

"Please Molly, I need to talk to you."

"Well I don't care what you want Daniel, I don't want to talk to you."

"I need to, before you go away?"

"What the fuck? How do you know I'm going away?"

"Stuart told me you're going to Ibiza with Lily."

Molly shook her head,

"So what if I am Daniel?"

"Just let me in-" just then Daniel caught sight of Charles on the stairs, "Oh I see, that's why you don't want to talk, cos you've got your new man here?!" Daniel sounded pissed off now.

Charles continued down the stairs as Molly looked between him and Daniel, a look of panic on her face. Suddenly she walked away from the door into the lounge area, placing her hands on her head, she exhaled loudly,

"Fucks sake," she whispered.

Daniel took her movement as an opportunity to step inside, but he didn't shut the door,

"Look Molly I'm only asking for 5 minutes."

"Fine!" she snapped.

"And without your - boyfriend," Daniel spat the last word.

"Don't push it Daniel," she turned to him.

Charles knew she was rattled and he suspected she was worried he'd put Daniel straight on their relationship, but he wasn't about to do that. Anything that made this twat suffer a little discomfort was alright with him. He'd had plenty of practice in conflict resolution, he would approach Daniel the way he might approach a cornered insurgent. He stuck his hand out, a peace offering,

"Charles, good to meet you Daniel, Molly's told me a lot about you."

Daniel was torn between hating this guy and the good manners instilled in him by his Father. Reluctantly he shook Charles' hand albeit briefly.

"Look...Charles, I'd appreciate a minute with Molly." His voice shook and Charles knew he was trying to appeal to him while also wanting to punch him in the face.

"It's really up to Molly..."

"It's fine Charles, honestly." she leant her head in the direction of the kitchen.

Charles nodded, went through and shut the bifold doors though he didn't move from that spot, his ear pressed to the join. One wrong word from Daniel and he'd be out there like a shot. He heard Molly speak first,

"Right, what do you want?"

Daniel shut the door and moved to sit on an armchair,

"Can I?" he pointed to it.

Molly shrugged and sat down heavily on the sofa.

"It looks different in here, you've changed it."

"Well when you left I thought I'd get rid of any other rubbish as well, the sofa, our bed, pretty much anything to do with you."

"Right," Daniel looked at the floor, "look I'm sorry Moll-"

"I don't want your apology Daniel. It means nothing to me now."

"I miss you."

Molly snorted, "And that means even less."

He looked up at her and she could see the hurt in his eyes. She flinched slightly, but mostly she just wanted to get him out of there,

"Spit it out then," she said impatiently, "I've got packing to do."

"Ok...I wanted to catch you before you go...to Ibiza...and well..."

"What?!"

"Um like do the whole single girl party thing."

"I'm-"

Daniel held up his hand, "I know you're not single, with Mr Muscle and that, but he's been around 5 minutes, I figure things change."

"Turns out they change after years as well, not just minutes."

"I don't like him being in our house Molly."

"And there you go again! It's not "our" house anymore, in fact it never was "our" house, it's _my_ house and I will have whoever the fuck I want here."

"And there _you_ go again, always Miss Independent, not wanting help, not wanting to share your life, your home, God you _pushed_ me away!"

"I didn't push you into her _bed_ Daniel, you took that particular step all by yourself."

"I know! Sorry, it's just frustrating Molly. Damn it!" He stood up and paced in front of the window.

As stressed as she was, she had to admit there was a certain satisfaction in watching him squirm.

"So why did you need to catch me before Ibiza?"

"I wanted you to have all the facts, to know how I _feel_."

"I don't care how you feel Daniel."

"I don't believe that. Molly, _please_...I love you, I still love you, I miss you..."

"And?!" Molly meant it as a flyaway comment that didn't require an answer, but Daniel took it as an invitation to continue.

"And...well...Melanie's pregnant."

Molly was surprised at how little it hurt compared to how she thought it would when she had realised Daniel and Melanie were going to be serious. She really just felt flat, apathetic, non-plussed.

"Why are you telling me this Daniel? You're going to be a father and that's got nothing to do with me."

Daniel stopped pacing,

"Because it was an accident, I don't want a baby with Melanie...I...Well I want a baby with _you_."

Molly shook her head in disbelief,

"Daniel, you could have had a baby with me and you screwed it up and now you have to deal with the consequences. Stay with Melanie, don't stay with Melanie, I really don't care, but this baby didn't ask to be conceived and he or she is your responsibility. Don't be a shit Dad, it's the worst thing you could do, I've got first hand experience."

"What do you mean you don't care?"

"What?"

"You said you don't care if I stay with Melanie or not, I can't believe you mean that." He crouched down in front of her now, "Molly."

For the first time, Molly felt sorry for him. After everything he'd done, she could see he was suffering, but she meant what she'd said, she didn't care enough. Behind the doors, Charles was starting to feel sorry for Daniel too. He knew what it was like to want Molly and not have her, he could sympathise with Daniel's feelings even if he thought the man was an idiot. He had to remind himself as well that if Daniel hadn't fucked up, Charles wouldn't have a chance with Molly at all. Did he have a chance anyway though? He was torn at the thought. Molly spoke again,

"Daniel, there's something you don't know."

"What?" he sounded wary.

"I was devastated by what happened, you know that, but once it all died down I realised that I didn't actually miss you that much, other than having you as a mate. Daniel, we were a routine, I honestly don't think it was true love. So when I say I don't care, it's not to be mean, it's the truth. I care if you're safe and well and if your family are ok, but what you do with your life and with whom? Not so much."

"Right. So you're set with the new bloke then?"

"I'm not set with anything or anyone Daniel, I'm just taking life as it comes."

He nodded,

"Promise me you'll think about what I said?"

Molly looked down at him, she felt a lot of the anger leave her. She nodded,

"I will think about it, but Daniel it won't change my mind."

He stood up, dejected and made for the door. Molly stood too,

"I meant what I said Daniel. Don't screw up this child, you can be a good Dad even if you're a shit boyfriend."

"Ok, I'll try. Can I call you?"

"What for?"

"I miss you as my mate too."

"I won't turn you away if you need help, but I can't be your go to."

"Fair enough. Take care of yourself Molly." And with that he left.

Molly stood for a moment, shaking with the emotion of what had just happened. She took a few deep breaths then walked purposefully through to the kitchen. Charles was sitting at the table, she avoided making eye contact with him. She went straight to the fridge, took out a bottle of beer, opened it and drank deeply.

"You ok?" Charles enquired quietly.

"Yeah, I just need to calm down a bit. Want one?" She indicated the bottle.

"Yeah, thanks."

She placed the beer in front of him and sat down beside him. There was an awkward silence.

"Molly, can I ask you something?"

"I suppose," she shrugged and Charles could tell she'd put up her walls.

"Do you want to go back to Daniel?"

"What the fuck?" she exclaimed, "No! Why would you ask that?"

"I'm just checking. I know we're not together, though he thinks we are, but I don't want to stand in your way if you were considering it."

His stomach was twisted painfully. He knew it was right to ask, but the words almost choked him.

"No Charles I don't want to go back to him. I meant what I said...I assume you heard it all."

Charles nodded awkwardly.

"Well it's obviously not what I was expecting him to say," she continued, "but it is what it is and that's that."

Charles could tell she was thinking about the pregnancy.

"Can I ask you something else?"

She looked at him seriously,

"You can ask me anything Charles," and she meant it.

"Do you still want children? Even though it's not with Daniel?"

Molly stared at the table for a couple of minutes. She didn't know what to say. She definitely wanted children, but she was scared to admit that to Charles in case he told he he didn't and there would be yet another thing pushing them apart. She sighed, best to rip the plaster sooner rather than later,

"Yes I do want children Charles."

"Then you should make sure you do that. Don't compromise what you want in life for anyone else."

She felt sick, was he saying she should find someone else? Was he having second thoughts about potentially being with her because he already had a grown up son and didn't want to start over again?

"And before you ask," he spoke firmly, "I want more children. I want to experience what it's like to have them with someone I'm in love with." He took a large drink of beer before pushing up from his chair, "I'm heading home now, let you get on. Have a great holiday and I'll see you when you're back." He smiled.

She recognised the self-preservation. He'd just admitted something to her without actually saying it and he needed to leave her with that and give them both some space. She smiled back, a little too cheerily,

"Thank you. I'll let you know when I'm there and I'll catch you on Friday or Saturday."

They walked to the door and she opened it for him. He turned to her, standing close, he rested his hands on her shoulders,

"Safe journey Molly."

He leant down and brushed her lips with his then hurried down the steps before she could reply with more than a stunned "bye."


	14. Chapter 14

**AN: Well I've struggled all day after last night's shock episode. I might not have been a huge fan of the second OG couple, but I love a happy ending and safe to say that was the opposite of one! I'm not sure how the other writers feel here, but I'm finding it hard to write Elvis in his cheeky glory right now. However, he's part of this story for me so I'll be carrying on as if THAT didn't happen! And since there were NO mentions of Molly in any of the 4 episodes, thank goodness we have this outlet for our MD+CJ worship!**

Chapter 14

Jennifer James sat in her favourite armchair staring out of the conservatory window at the rain as it drizzled through the trees. She sipped her coffee and sighed. On the surface she was calm and relaxed, but inside she was fretting...and pondering...and generally driving herself mad worrying about things. She had done a lot of fretting and pondering in this chair over the years, not surprising with one son in the army and another who was what she had heard described as a "player". Her husband Clayton was more stoic about things, but she knew he had his own personal worries that he kept to himself.

She was concerned about Charles uprooting his whole life to move to a new city, even if it was to be there for Sam, she couldn't quite work out his motivation. Then there was his insistence on going back on tour, that bloody army, she'd almost lost him once and now he was off again next week. She shifted in her chair as the familiar panic sloshed in her stomach. It's not Afghan, she had to remind herself of that.

And then there was Jacob, what was he doing? And how long had he been doing it for? She was still in shock at what she'd seen, she hadn't even told Clayton. What would he say? Should she tell Charles? What would he do?

She drank more coffee, her third cup that morning which she was sure wasn't good for her, but since Charles had bought her that machine and introduced her to the Nespresso menu, she'd developed a bit of an addiction as Clayton called it.

She checked her watch, 10.30 a.m., she'd already been sitting there for an hour, but she couldn't quite bring herself to move. She heard the key in the front door and turned, puzzled. Clayton wasn't due back until 1.00 p.m. and she was pretty sure the rain didn't stop them meeting in the clubhouse even if they didn't venture onto the golf course.

"Clay?" She called, "is everything alright dear?"

There was no reply, but she could hear him shifting stuff in the hallway. With a sigh, she heaved herself out of the chair and made her way from the conservatory, through the kitchen and out of the door by the stairs. She started,

"Charles! Oh my goodness you frightened the life out of me. What are you doing here? Are you ok? Is it Sam?" Her mind whirred with possibilities.

"Hi Mum," Charles said with a small smile, "I'm ok, Sam's ok, I just thought I'd come down for a visit."

Jennifer eyed him suspiciously. He had dark circles under his eyes and a worry hung about him. Something wasn't right. She moved towards him, reaching up to envelope him in a hug. When she stood on tiptoes to reach him she always had to remind herself that this tall wall of muscle had once nestled happily in her womb for 9 months. It was almost unbelievable.

Holding him tightly now, she knew there was something wrong. He hugged her back and sighed,

"I don't know what I'm doing Mum." He sounded lost.

She drew back to look at him, stroking his face.

"Well you're home with your mum now, so we can sort it all out." She eyed his hold-all on the floor, "how long are you staying?"

He shrugged. She nodded and patted his chest,

"Right, come on, coffee and a seat in the conservatory and you can tell me all about it while your Father is out. No need to have him asking a million questions."

Charles smiled at his Mum's take charge, problem solving attitude, it had helped him out of quite a few sticky situations over the years.

"Coffee sounds great Mum."

—

Charles hadn't intended going to Bath. Molly had asked him what he had planned for the next few days and he'd been a bit vague in his reply. He'd mentioned a possible trip to B&Q, running, catching up with some guys from his new base, but really he knew he was going to sit in his flat and think about Molly and what the hell he was going to do about his predicament. After a sleepless night which saw him rise in time to see Molly's taxi collect her at 6am, he was already jumping out of his skin with frustration.

He called Elvis,

"Charlie, what's up?"

"Hi Elvis, just wondering what you're up to this week? I've got some time on my hands, thought I might take a London trip."

"Oh mate no can do, I'm on ops."

"Oh no problem, where?" Charles tried to hide the disappointment in his voice.

"Ah need to know basis mate, but safe to say it's a war zone."

Charles smiled to himself, he and Elvis had got pretty good at deciphering each other's need to know shorthand over the years. He was fairly sure Elvis was in Syria, but he didn't question it further.

"Sounds right up your street Captain Harte. Give me a ring when you're back, but I'm going to Kenya next Wednesday."

"Roger that Charlie, catch up soon. I wanna hear if you've made any progress with that neighbour of yours."

"Yeah...um, about that."

There was a crackling on the line,

"Sorry Charlie gotta go, speak soon." Then the line went dead.

Charles sighed and looked at the clock. After a moment's hesitation he looked up flights from Edinburgh to Bristol. Before he knew it, he was parking up in the long stay car park and checking in for a flight. It occurred to him on the airport bus service from Bristol to Bath that he should have called his parents, but they would have just asked questions. He was going to speak to his Mum before his internal monologue threatened to send him into a padded cell, but he really didn't want to do it over the phone so he sat back and tried to relax as much as he could when he was about to give voice to the thoughts running through his head. The thoughts that signalled he may have to seriously rethink where he was going in life.

—

Jennifer and Charles had been sitting in silence for 11 minutes. Jennifer had been counting on her watch. She knew her son better than he knew himself at times and it was best to let him start talking when he wanted. She'd made a few comments about the weather, the garden, neighbours etc., but she waited, outwardly patient. Inside she was jiggling nervously. She'd seen Charles like this once before, when he came to tell her Rebecca was pregnant. Something must have happened in Edinburgh, she knew he should never have moved like he did. She shook her head,

"What?" Charles voice startled her.

"Nothing darling, just thinking."

"About me?"

"Yes darling, about you, I'm worried about you."

Charles leaned back against the sofa cushions, lacing his hands behind his head, he closed his eyes,

"I met someone Mum."

Ok, this was not what Jennifer was expecting.

"Oh yes?" She tried to keep her tone even.

Charles opened his eyes and nodded,

"Yes and I don't really know what's going on."

"Is this someone a girl?"

Charles rolled his eyes, "Yes mum, I've told you, if I was gay, I would tell you."

"I'm just making sure you know it's totally fine if you are!"

"So you've said a few times," he laughed, "just because I'm still single doesn't mean I'm gay."

"Well then, you better start from the beginning. Who is this someone and how have they got you in such a tizz?"

—

"So she left this morning for Ibiza and here I am."

Jennifer sat in silence, desperately trying to process everything Charles had just told her.

"Mum?"

"Sorry darling, that is a lot of information. In fact I don't think you told me that much about Rebecca in all the time you were together."

"Mm what does that tell you?" Charles said wistfully.

Jennifer's jangling nerves had ratcheted up with each part of Charles' story. She relished the opportunity to sit and talk so openly with her son when he often kept all his thoughts and emotions tightly packed away. It was a wonderfully warm connection she was experiencing with him and she was worried it would stop all too soon.

At the same time, she was trying to figure out where he was going with all this information. So far he'd given her a complete run down of how he met this girl, when he'd seen her, where they'd been, what they'd talked about and of course the fact that she seemed unable to enter into a military partner situation, but Charles still hadn't told his Mum what this all meant for him. She didn't dare to hope that it meant he was thinking of not going to Kenya, she'd suffered that disappointment acutely after his injury when she thought she finally had him home safe and sound.

"So my darling, I think it's safe to say this Molly has made quite an impression on you."

"Yes, she has." Charles looked down at his knees, fiddling with a thread on his jeans.

"So what are you not saying?"

He remained silent. How was it that his Mum always knew? He couldn't see that Rebecca had any of that mother's intuition and yet Jennifer could sense things without a word.

He was terrified to say what he needed to. Saying it made it real, shaking the foundations of his plans, his life, his belief in the army and his place in it. He also didn't want to build up his Mum's hopes when he knew all she wanted was him safe. However, this was why he'd jumped on a plane with no planning and come here to see her. It was now or never.

Jennifer waited patiently.

Charles took a deep breath and blew it out slowly.

"I don't want to go on tour Mum. In fact I'm not sure I want to stay in."


	15. Chapter 15

**AN: I absolutely should be doing work instead of sitting here writing this, but I've got a renewed vigour for this story this week and I can't concentrate until I get some of it out there! Thank you for your continued comments! I'm loving reading all the new stories that have popped up as well. V inspirational.**

Chapter 15

"Mum? Did you hear what I said?" Charles looked at his Mum, confused.

She hadn't said a word in response to his bombshell, but sat with her fingers pressed to her mouth, staring straight ahead.

"Yes I heard you, I just need a minute."

"Right, ok...ehm." Charles wasn't sure what to do with himself so he stood up and went through to the fridge, returning with two bottles of water. He handed one to Jennifer.

"I think I need something a bit stronger dear." She rose and went to the cabinet in the corner, poured a large gin and disappeared into the kitchen.

When she returned, her glass had been topped up with ice and tonic and she seemed to be less in shock.

"Well?" Charles asked warily.

"Well...indeed."

"I know, I know what you're going to say."

"Actually darling I don't know if you do."

"Ok..."

"Can I speak freely Charles?"

Charles laughed, "When have you ever done anything else Mother?"

"On a number of occasions actually." Her tone was perfectly serious and Charles was instantly aware that he should avoid any further attempts at humour. Maybe _he_ would need a gin.

"Go on Mum, please, I need your advice."

Jennifer basked in the feeling of being needed by her fiercely independent son, it had been a long time. She sipped her gin,

"Well Charles it's my belief that a parent's job is to set your child up for what life may bring, support them always, but let them find their own way and your Father and I have done our best to do that. Granted it was far from ideal that you became a Father at such a young age yourself, but you stepped up to the plate admirably and Sam is a credit to you. I know you tried with Rebecca, but that was not to be and I would rather you were happy than stuck in a marriage going nowhere."

Charles nodded, he had heard all of this before from his Mum so he was unsure where she was going next.

"That being said, I hate the fact that you are in the army. And I mean hate it. Obviously I'm proud of you for what you do and what you've achieved, but since the day you went off to Sandhurst there has been a permanent knot in my stomach which only slightly relaxes when you are home."

"Mum, I-"

"Let me finish please," Jennifer held up her hand, "you're not stupid Charles, you know I wasn't happy that that was your chosen career path, but if I hadn't tried so hard to step back I would have done anything to stop you going including lying down on the tarmac at Brize Norton in front of the plane you were on. I have lain awake for nights on end imagining being able to just beg you to leave and do something else. I have never understood your need to go, but I have accepted it and kept my counsel." She took a shaky breath. Charles took the opportunity to interject,

"I had no idea how strongly you felt Mum." He shook his head, "All I can say is thank you for supporting me and allowing me to live the life I wanted."

"As I said, that's my job as a parent."

"So-"

"I'm not finished Charles. I've held this in for 13 years and you've finally asked me for my advice, I'm getting this out if it kills me."

Charles sat a little straighter and motioned that she should continue.

"I have learned to live with the threat of the death of my child. Why do you think I kept working as a midwife all these years? I cling onto that new life and new hope like a dinghy in a storm, it's the only thing that keeps me grounded and shows me that there's more to the world than people shooting at my son. When the officials came to tell us you'd been wounded and I knew how bad it was, I thought I might never make it through, truth be told I don't know how your Dad and I managed. Necessity I suppose.

After you pulled through though, there was a tiny part of me that was glad you'd been shot because it meant you weren't going back and that's all I've ever wanted to hear from you. You lay in that hospital bed and told me you were resigning your commission because you'd let everybody down and selfishly instead of telling you not to beat yourself up, I clung to the fact that you would be out of danger and I could breathe properly for the first time since you were 22.

Of course I say selfishly because it was. I knew then you were only doing it because you felt you should for Sam and to some extent the rest of us, but I didn't care and for that I'm sorry. I know I should have said something at the time, but I couldn't."

"Mum-"

She shook her head quickly, tears threatening to spill,

"When you told me you were going back before making a final decision, I knew then that you already had."

"What?"

"Made a decision. You were going to stay in."

Charles squirmed.

"Am I wrong Charles?"

"No...and that's what's so bloody annoying. You knew I was only saying I wasn't sure? You knew I'd stay in if they let me?"

"Of course I did!"

"But you never said!"

"What good would it have done darling? That's what I mean by stepping back, but now you've come to me and I feel like it's my chance to finally discuss things with you properly. I had to wait, I could never force you to confront these things with me."

"Mum...you're pretty amazing you know."

"No no don't be silly. I'm just a relieved Mum that's all."

"Relieved?"

"Yes relieved, that maybe you've finally found someone who has made you think that your life can be different if you want it to be."

"Molly you mean?"

"Who else dear? Certainly not Rebecca. I know she's the mother of my grandson and for that I will always hold her in high esteem, but other than that I know the way she is played a large part in you staying away."

"I think we can all acknowledge that."

"Mmm indeed."

"But Mum how does this help where I am now? What do I do?"

Jennifer sighed,

"Charles you are a Captain in the British Army, you have led missions that would terrify most people, you don't need me to tell you what to do, all I can do is advise you and you must not feel that you need to follow it. Your heart is what you need to follow."

"Sorry Mum, but that really doesn't help! Advise me then as you put it... _please_."

"Alright, the way I see it and remember I may be wrong, but before you met Molly you were set on staying in. You were ready for that next step and worrying more about how to tell us all when you came back that you were continuing as part of the army. Right?"

He nodded.

"Ok," she continued, "So now the change is this girl you've met. In the spirit of honesty I must tell you, I'm torn between throwing myself at her in gratitude and being jealous that she's been the one to make you want to stay home."

Charles smiled and came over to crouch by his Mother's chair.

"I feel like I should say sorry that I didn't consider you and Dad more."

"Absolutely not! You did the right thing, you made a life choice that suited you and you did a damn good job of living that life. Now sit down, that position will play havoc with your leg."

Charles promptly sat down on the sofa closest to Jennifer and allowed her to continue,

"I think you need to go to Kenya."

"What?! But you said, just now all that stuff about how you don't want me to go-"

"Charles calm down. Try and be logical for a minute. You need to go because you have committed to it. You've not committed to staying in past that short tour, but people are relying on you for this one. Also, as delighted as I am to hear about Molly who you are clearly smitten with, nothing has actually happened...has it? And you can spare me any gory details."

Charles's cheeks reddened, "No Mum...I've ehm...I've kissed her, but that was before she told me she couldn't go out with me."

"Right so nothing really has happened."

"It feels like it has though Mum. Believe me I know this sounds mental, but the time I've spent with her, it's like she's opened up something in me. I don't feel the same pent up darkness that I didn't even know I carried around."

"And what if you give up everything now without going to Kenya and it doesn't work out?"

"I know..." he sighed, "I know."

"So you go as planned, see how the 6 weeks go and then decide."

"I want to be with her mum."

"Then you'll still want that in 6 weeks and if not, you've still got the life you've had for 13 years."

"Ok." He heaved a shaky breath.

"I will ask one thing."

"What?"

"Don't tell Molly that you're having second thoughts about staying in?"

"You want me to lie?"

"No I don't mean that," she gripped his hand now, "from what you've told me this girl is as head over heels for you as you are for her-"

"I don't know that Mum honestly that's what makes this so hard."

"Trust me Charles. She obviously has a lot going on in her life, her own struggles, but you've got her to open up to you. She clearly feels very deeply for you, but she's not once asked you not to go to Kenya so you can be with _her_. She's put your choice ahead of her own feelings, it's a truly admirable quality."

"Then why shouldn't I just be honest with her?"

"You've told her you're going to make up your mind after 6 weeks and that's what you're going to do."

"But when I told her that I was sure I was staying in."

"And now you're not sure so you're still in the same position you told her you were. Please Charles take it from someone who has had first hand experience."

"Of what?"

"Of having the chance to have you home and safe snatched away."

"Oh...I didn't think..."

"It's ok darling I don't expect you to, but I must tell you, the joy I felt when you said you were resigning turned to despair pretty damn quickly. It was almost worse than living with you being away for 13 years, at least during that time I had no raised hopes to dash."

"I feel like I'm going to be deceiving her."

"Then tell her you're feeling unsure and you'll make a decision when you get back, but whatever you do don't give that poor girl false hope. We both know you thrive on being on tour, you might get to Kenya and rediscover that passion. Then you have to tell Molly that you changed your mind. She doesn't deserve heartbreak like that."

Jennifer rose to fetch another gin. She would have drank straight from the bottle if she thought it wasn't terribly improper.

Charles sat back, it was his turn to ponder now. He felt calmer than he had and more self-assured about his plan, but he still missed Molly, wanted to see her, hold her and not leave her. His Mum was right though, he had to see this through, it was the right thing to do and then he'd know for sure. Hopefully as a humanitarian mission it would be quite straightforward. He'd supported NGO's in refugee camps before and although it was a hard slog, it was very different to dodging bullets in Afghan. He wasn't ignorant to the danger of course, he just hoped that this time Lady Luck would be smiling on them and it would all go to plan.

He stood then and crossed the room. He enveloped his Mum in a hug and hoped that it communicated all the gratitude he felt.

"Thanks Mum," he whispered.

"Any time my darling." She squeezed him back tightly, "now you'll need a rest I bet, go and have a lie down and I'll fill your Father in when he gets back. No point in you having to tell the whole story again."

"I am knackered," admitted Charles.

"Off you go then, I'll keep some lunch back for you."

He kissed his Mother's forehead,

"Love you Mum."

"And I love you my sweet sweet boy."


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Click

The unmistakeable sound of a camera phone shutter shook Molly out of her peaceful doze where she was daydreaming about Charles.

"Lily why are you taking photos of me while I'm snoozing?" She asked without opening her eyes.

Lily giggled,

"Just updating our social media Molls."

Molly groaned,

"Don't be putting that picture anywhere, I probably had 3 chins and drool!"

"Don't be daft you look gorgeous."

Molly could hear her clicking away on her phone and sure enough, Molly's pinged with a Facebook notification that she had been tagged. She ignored it and kept her eyes shut.

Lily settled on the next sun lounger beside her,

"So Miss Dawes, spill."

"What?" still keeping her eyes closed, Molly pretended to have no clue what Lily was talking about.

"Come on Molls, I picked you up from the airport, we checked in to the hotel, got changed and now we've had a cocktail, but you've yet to mention Mr Marathon."

Lifting her sunglasses, Molly turned and squinted at Lily through the bright sunlight,

"Mr Marathon?"

"You know, the guy you met while you were training. You were obviously with him when I phoned you last week. I can't believe you're keeping this goss to yourself! Is it him that keeps texting you? I've never seen you quite so glued to your phone."

Molly dropped her sunglasses back onto her nose and lay back. How was she going to deal with this one? She had planned to chat to Lily at some point, but she was working up to it and had hoped Lily would forget about their brief chat on the phone. She also thought she'd been discreet about her texts from Charles. She sighed, obviously not.

"Well?" Lily demanded.

"It's nothing...he's just a neighbour and nothing's going on."

"Why?"

"It's complicated, really there's nothing happening."

Molly felt her sun lounger dip slightly as Lily came to sit on it with her. She opened her eyes again. Lily was staring at her, arms folded. There was no getting away from Lily when she knew there was something up,

"Molly what the fuck, why don't you want to tell me?" She sounded hurt.

Molly sighed, pushing herself up into a sitting position and crossing her legs,

"I'm a bit scared to tell you."

"Scared? Why? Oh God he's not one of my exes is he?"

Molly laughed,

"No nothing like that!" Luckily the two friends had completely different taste in men and never had an issue with both fancying the same guy.

"What then?" Lily looked at a genuine loss.

Molly took a deep breath,

"Look Lil, I met him while I was out running, but he's not training for the marathon."

"Ok, so what's the problem?"

"Well he's recovering from an injury and we got chatting. He's just moved in across the road and he asked me out for dinner."

"You've already been on a date and you didn't tell me? Molly! Why?!"

"Just listen, please. When we went for dinner he told me about his injury...he was shot..."

Lily's mouth dropped,

"Oh my God! Where is he from?!"

"He's from Bath, but he was shot in Afghanistan...he's a Captain in the army."

Lily stared at Molly, eyes flicking from side to side, mouth opening and closing,

"Molly, but...no...but,"

Molly laid a hand on her best friend's arm,

"Lily I know, honest, the minute he told me, I told him I couldn't date him. I told him all about your Dad."

Lily's eyes filled with tears,

"You told him about my Dad?"

"Of course, why, is that not ok?"

"No no...I just...I appreciate it, thanks." She leaned forward and hugged Molly tightly. "What did he say?"

Molly shrugged, "Well he wasn't very happy to begin with, he thought it was the start of something, but he understood. He spoke about friends he's lost too. So yeah, that's it." She looked up brightly, hoping Lily would accept her explanation.

Instead, Lily frowned,

"Except that's not it is it?"

"How do you mean?"

"I don't know, just something, you seem...I don't know."

"I'm fine, don't worry."

"Now I know you're not fine. What did you mean by the start of something?"

Molly shifted uncomfortably,

"Just that we clicked, you know..."

"And?"

"And we kissed, before we went for dinner, we kissed and well..."

"Did you shag him Molly?!"

"No! I'm not-"

Lily cut across her,

"-I know, you're not me." She smiled wryly.

"That's not what I was going to say Lil!"

"I know honey, it's what I'm saying." She laughed. Lily and Molly approached their dating lives very differently. Lily was more of a sex now ask questions later where Molly took her time, sometimes too much time and by the time she'd assessed a potential romantic situation the boy in question had often moved on.

Lily continued, "Molly, what's going on now?"

Molly shrugged, "We're friends, we've been hanging out quite a bit. He's new to Edinburgh so I've been a tour guide and we've gone for a run together. That's it."

"And he's happy with that?"

"Well he's not unhappy. He wants more, but I've told him I can't."

"Molly..."

"It's ok Lil." Molly felt the lump rising in her throat and she swallowed hard.

"You like him don't you?"

"He's a nice guy."

"You know what I mean. Molly?"

"What?"

"Was it a lightning bolt moment?" Lily held her breath in anticipation.

Molly nodded, but she couldn't look at Lily.

"I'm sorry Molly." Lily whispered and Molly heard her voice catch.

The two friends looked at each other, eyes full of unshed tears.

"I'm going for a swim." Lily said suddenly.

Molly reached for her hand, but Lily just patted her arm.

"Later Molls."

She sat back and watched as Lily stood up, adjusted her bikini and dived head first into the pool. She knew from experience that it was best to give Lily space and wait until she came back to her.

She wiped her eyes and sighed. She didn't want this to overshadow their whole holiday. She already felt like thoughts of Charles were invading her every waking moment. It was like being 14 and obsessed with the boy who sat across from her in Chemistry. She'd hoped to get some head space by coming away, but it wasn't working. She also felt the looming deadline of him leaving pressing down on her. As if on cue, her phone beeped with a text from him. She looked from Lily swimming laps to her phone and huffed, resting her head back on her towel. So much for a bloody holiday.

— OG —

Charles lay on his bed in his old room, staring up at the ceiling. He'd napped on and off, but he'd been enjoying a lengthy text exchange with Molly. It started when she'd landed and let him know she was there safely and continued on and off until she told him she was going to the pool with Lily and would text him later. 20 mins later, he was dozing when a Facebook notification told him Molly had been tagged in a post. She had added him before she left so he could see her photos. She seemed keen to reassure him that she wasn't going to be kissing lots of different boys.

He rolled over and opened his Facebook app. He rubbed his eyes while he waited for it to load then exhaled loudly when he saw the picture. Lily was obviously taking it, a short elfin looking girl with a shock of spiky blonde hair with pink tips grinned in the foreground of the selfie while Molly, clearly unaware she was being photographed, lay on a sun lounger in the background. She wore a bright pink cut away swimsuit which was more of a bikini joined up down the middle. Her hair was piled on top of her head and she looked relaxed and beautiful. It was the least amount of clothing he'd seen her wearing and he was embarrassed to feel that the reaction in his groin was almost instantaneous. She was gorgeous. He wanted her, but not just physically, completely. He wanted her with him in every way. He flopped back onto his pillow, breathing heavily. Thinking of his Mum's words, he knew he had to do this tour, but then he had to do everything he could to convince her to give them a chance. Starting now.

He opened a new message and typed:

You look absolutely stunning in that swimsuit. C xx

Simple and to the point. Now he just had to hope she'd reply.


	17. Chapter 17

**Hi all, I'm delighted to be back in the world of FF, I know it's been a long time. I had to take a step back due to work and real life, but I knew I'd come back at some point. Thank you so much to all those who have left comments and sent messages asking about this story. It brightens my day to know that people enjoy my writing. Rest assured I have the story mapped out so even if I disappear for months at a time, at some point I fully intend to finish it. This is just a teeny chapter to ease myself back in, I'm feeling nervous about resuming, but hoping it will be ok. Love to all, MrsC**

Chapter 17

Molly stared at the text, conflicted. Her stomach clenched with excitement while her head went to war with her heart.

Stunning...that's what he'd said right before he kissed her at the bottom of her stairs. Bikini...he'd never seen her wear so little clothing and it seemed he liked what he saw.

He was flirting. Even from such a short text it was obvious. How should she reply? They were supposed to be in the friends zone for now. Ignoring the growing attraction between them. Sensibly waiting until he returned from Kenya...if he returned. And there it was, the boulder in her stomach...if.

She looked up to see Lily perched at one end of the pool, lazily kicking her legs while she watched the ripples she created. Molly knew Lily would want to talk about this situation more, but what was left to say?

She threw herself back on the lounger causing it to shift and scrape slightly on the ground. Her sudden outburst of frustration drew a couple of enquiring glances from fellow guests. Embarrassed, she shifted further down and reread the text for the umpteenth time.

She couldn't ignore the clench in her lower body when she studied his words, imagining where he was when he sent it. Was he lying on the sofa? Sitting on the beach? Thinking of him looking at her in that way led to several flashing images in her mind, none of which leant themselves to waiting out.

Maybe it was the sun, maybe it was the holiday vibe, maybe she was just sick of playing it safe, but she took a deep breath and replied.

Thank you, glad you like it winky face I was worried it was a bit revealing...maybe that's a good thing though? It's really hot here, I'm just lying by the pool. It's good to have time to chat to you more. What are you up to? M xx


	18. Chapter 18

AN: So I've been sitting on this half done chapter for months now. A combination of not liking the way the series has gone and a doubtful feeling about this section, meant I couldn't progress it. I wanted to try something different. When I was at school (20 years ago - how can I be that old?!), I studied Dracula and there were large chunks of it written in letter form so there was no physical interaction between the characters. I know a few writers have used this tool and I wanted to explore how it would be, using only text messages between Molly and Charles. I'm not that happy with it as it doesn't have the flow I would like, it's very difficult to capture the dynamic without describing things to the reader, but I've decided to take a deep breath and post because if it is terrible, there will be more normal chapters to follow. I've tagged them how I imagine they would in their phones; Molly is more carefree compared to Charles who uses her full name.

A wee note, the last line has a wee bit of smut, I've put * just above it, to warn anyone that doesn't want to read it.

This story will continue as if we've only had series 1 and 2. There will be no nods to recent events.

Lastly a massive thank you to everyone who has reviewed over the last few months, asking for more of this story. I am so touched that people care enough to review. If anyone has any constructive ideas on how to improve this chapter, I'd be happy to take advice.

Chapter 18

Charles Mobile

[I think it's safe to say that in this case, revealing is a good thing. It's a good job I'm not there with you...

It's good to chat more to you too, I've got plenty time on my hands so any time is good for me. I'm actually at my parent's house in Bath, decided to take a last minute trip down to see them.

How's Lily? Are you going out tonight?]

Molly Dawes

[Oh you didn't mention seeing them, that'll have been a nice surprise for them, especially your mum. From what you've told me she misses you. Will you catch up with Sam?

Lily is good, she's in the pool just now, she's a bit quiet so it's safer to leave her when she's like that.

I like the thought of you being here with me, soaking up the sun together. I've got several bikinis with me, it would be a daily parade of revealing...]

Charles Mobile

[Yes Mum does miss me I think, she's not sure my move to Edinburgh is the right thing, but she supports me. More than I think I realised actually, we had a long chat today, it was good, surprising, but good.

Why is Lily quiet? Did you tell her about me? Is she annoyed?

I will see Sam, but actually he's going up to Edinburgh on Wednesday. A friend of his from school is also starting uni there and he's staying in one of his Dad's flats (note the one of!) so Sam is coming too to give him a bit of a head start on city life. It means I'll get to see him before I go too.

So about us soaking up the sun together, what might that involve?]

Molly Dawes

[How do you mean surprising? Tell me to mind my own business if I'm prying.

Sounds fun for Sam and a good friend to know who owns Edinburgh property.

Yes I told Lily, she just went quiet and went in the pool, she'll probably want to chat more later.

So if you were here right now I would probably get you to put suncream on my back. Predictable I know, but there's always one spot I can't reach as well and I end up red and blotchy. Then we could share a sun lounger, get comfy, drink cocktails, the list goes on.]

Charles Mobile

[I had no idea how difficult it is to carry on a full conversation by text. We have three subjects on the go just now. Could we maybe leave the Mum and Sam chat until later when you're fully dressed?]

Molly Dawes

[And what does my attire have to do with the content of our conversation?]

Charles Mobile

[I don't want to talk about my Mum when I know you're at the other end of the phone in a bikini.]

Molly Dawes

[Is the thought of me in a bikini distracting you?]

Charles Mobile

[It's certainly having an effect.]

Molly Dawes

[You have no idea how tempted I am to say something inappropriate right now.]

Charles Mobile

[Why don't you?]

Molly Dawes

[I think we're veering into dangerous territory now.]

Charles Mobile

[You're right, we should stop.]

Molly Dawes

[I don't want to stop.]

Charles Mobile

[What do you want Molly?]

Molly Dawes

[You? Us? No complications?]

Charles Mobile

[There doesn't have to be complications.]

Molly Dawes

[You know there is though. I'm already too invested in this, I'm just making it more difficult.]

Charles Mobile

[Do you want me to stop texting you?]

Molly Dawes

[No]

Charles Mobile

[Ok]

Molly Dawes

[Maybe you could be my holiday romance. I know that sounds daft, just trying to lighten the mood.]

Charles Mobile

[A virtual holiday romance? I like the sound of that...]

Molly Dawes

[But?]

Charles Mobile

[Isn't that going to make things more complicated, when you come back I mean.]

Molly Dawes

[Never heard the phrase "what goes on tour stays on tour"?]

Charles Mobile

[Heard of it? I'm in the army, I think we probably invented it.]

Molly Dawes

[So what do you say? You might not actually be lying here with me, but imagine you were.]

Charles Mobile

[I don't have a very good imagination, you might have to start this off.]

Molly Dawes

[Well if you can't imagine what it would be like to be lying here behind me, your arms and legs wrapped round me, skin on skin, then we might gonna have a problem with this virtual romance thing.]

Charles Mobile

[See? That was a great start, I'm definitely managing that imagining now.]

Molly Dawes

[Glad to hear it, your turn.]

Charles Mobile

[Hang on, I'm dying to know what the inappropriate thing was that you wanted to say.]

Molly Dawes

[Are you sure?]

Charles Mobile

[Yes definitely]

Molly Dawes

[You said imagining me in a bikini was having a considerable effect. I wanted to know if it was a mental effect...or a physical one?]

Charles Mobile

[Do you really want the answer to that?]

Molly Dawes

[Yes I want the full and frank answer Charles]

Charles Mobile

[Shit Molly, are we really going to do this?]

Molly Dawes

[No going back now...]

Charles Mobile

[Ok...both as it happens. I can't think straight around you, I don't know what's happening to me. And the bikini specific chat? Let's just say, my jeans feel a little more snug than usual.]

Molly Dawes

[Well I'll take both those as a compliment. Are your jeans snug in the way they were at the bottom of my stairs that night?]

Charles Mobile

[Safe to say they are. Seems you don't even have to be in the same room.]

Molly Dawes

[Safe to say I'm glad no-one at this poolside knows what I'm thinking right now or what I'm feeling...]

Charles Mobile

[What are you thinking Molly? What are you feeling?]

Molly Dawes

[I'm thinking what you look like in swim shorts and I'm feeling hot, not in a weather related way.

Listen Lily is back, we're heading back to the room to get ready for dinner. I'll be ten mins, don't go anywhere ok?]

Charles Mobile

[I'll be right here.]

Charles Mobile

[Everything ok?]

Charles Mobile

[It's been 20 mins Molly, are you trying to torture me?]

Molly Dawes

[Sorry, I'm back, we got held up in reception. Sorry!]

Charles Mobile

[That's ok. Do you need to go and get ready?]

Molly Dawes

[Soon. I'm just in the shower.]

Charles Mobile

[With your phone?!]

Molly Dawes

[I've just told you I'm naked and you're worried about my phone?]

Charles Mobile

[Sorry that was stupid. I assume that naked you is under the water and your phone is not?]

Molly Dawes

[Exactly]

Charles Mobile

[You have no idea how much I want to be there with you right now.]

Molly Dawes

[Yes I do, cos I want you too. I'm jumping out of my skin right now. I might need to take drastic action.]

Charles Mobile

[Honestly I'm at a loss to imagine what that could be. Is it good drastic action?]

Molly Dawes

[I think any action would be very very good.]

Charles Mobile

[Are you suggesting what I think you are? If not I'm going to look really stupid.]

Molly Dawes

[I'm suggesting it. For real. Now.]

Charles Mobile

[Can you text and do...that?]

Molly Dawes

[I've never been so turned on in my whole life Charles. Whatever it takes.]

Charles Mobile

[I'm actually groaning into my pillow now Molly. This is torture. I want to touch you and kiss you and push you up against that shower wall until you can't stand up.]

Molly Dawes

[Oh my God Charles, you're too far away, I need you here. What now?]

Charles Mobile

[Now beautiful girl, we have to stop.]

Molly Dawes

[What? Why?!]

Charles Mobile

[Because Molly, the first time you come with me, I want to be there with you, holding you all the way through it.]


End file.
